PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH    LIFE 


2- 
PICTURES 


OF 


SWEDISH    LIFE 


OR 


SVEA    AND    HER   CHILDREN 


BY 

MRS.  WOODS   BAKER 

AUTHOR   OF   "OUR    ELDER    BROTHER,"    "SALT,"   "THE   BABES   IN 
THE    BASKET,"     ETC. 


N,EW    YORK 
ANSON   D.  F.  RANDOLPH   AND   COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 

182    FIFTH    AVENUE 

7 


Copyright,  1894, 
BY  ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  AND  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED). 


SSnibrrst'tn  }9ress: 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


NOTE. 

MOTHER  SVEA  is  a  far-off  cousin  to  Britannia  and 
Columbia.  This  interesting  old  lady  has  evidently 
discovered  the  fountain  of  perpetual  youth.  In  full 
vigor  and  beauty  she  reigns  in  her  quiet  home  in  the 
North,  and  keeps  up  her  ancient  customs  in  an  aristo- 
cratic and  independent  way  quite  her  own.  Her  family 
is  small,  but  she  takes  as  good  care  of  her  few  children 
as  any  old-fashioned  educator  can  ;  and  thinks,  no  doubt, 
in  her  heart,  that  her  crows  are  the  whitest,  though  the 
brood  may  not  be  as  large  as  some  others  she  could 
mention. 

The  writer  has  lived  many  years  in  Svea's  dominions, 
and  is  well  acquainted  with  her  fireside  doings,  and  so 
ventures  to  chat  about  them  with  well-loved  friends 
"over  the  water." 

In  this  unstudied  sketch  of  experiences  and  observa- 
tions, the  "  we  "  often  adopted  simply  indicates  that  the 
writer  was  not  alone  on  the  occasions  referred  to,  though 
her  companions  have  been  by  no  means  always  the  same. 
For  the  impressions  here  recorded  she  only  is  respon- 
sible. One  can  but  see  through  one's  own  spectacles, 
whatever  their  color  or  character  may  happen  to  be. 

With  these  few  prefatory  words,  the  writer  shakes 
hands  with  her  American  friends,  and  betakes  herself  to 
her  pleasant  task. 


2212400 


CONTENTS. 


SVEA'S  CHILDREN  OF  THE  PRESENT. 

PAGE 

THE  OLD  HOMESTEAD 3 

WHAT  SVEA  TELLS  HER  CHILDREN 8 

THE  GATEWAYS 17 

WATER  UTILIZED 23 

STOCKHOLM 32 

SEEING  THE  KING 46 

THE  QUEEN'S  MONUMENT 57 

Two  POETS 70 

"  THE  UNCLES  "  74 


II. 


THE  HOMES. 

THE  RED  COTTAGE 83 

THE  CASTLE 91 

WHAT'S  IN  A  NAME? 110 

A  SWEDISH  HOUSEHOLD 120 

THE  SWEDISH  LANGUAGE 132 

SUNDAY  MORNING 146 

SUNDAY  AFTERNOON 153 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

FREDRIKA  BREMER 165 

THE  DEAN'S  REBUKE 175 

A  PAIR  OF  POOR-HOUSES 187 

A  SWEDISH  WINTER 193 

SUMMER 206 

JOY  AND  SORROW     . 213 

THE  SEVEN  AGES 220 


III. 
WHAT  SVEA   DOES  FOR  HER  CHILDREN. 

MATERNAL  CARE 237 

UPSALA 248 

EMIGRATION 261 

IV. 
ROUNDABOUT  AND  NORTHWARD. 

THE  SWEDISH  ISLANDS 273 

DALECARLIA 277 

THE  FINNS 284 

THE  LAPPS 286 

V. 
SVEA'S  CHILDREN  OF  THE   PAST. 

UNDERGROUND  HISTORY 301 

THE  GREAT-GRANDMOTHER 305 

A  VIKING  AT  HOME  308 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE 

AN  OLD  ROVER 311 

SWEDEN'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY 315 

THE  ROYAL  SAINT 318 

AN  UNCROWNED  KING 320 

MAGNUS  LOCK-THE-BARN 323 

SANTA  BIRGITTA 326 

MARGARETA'S  UNION    ....  331 


VI. 

ROYAL   REFORMERS  AND  SONS  OF  GLORY. 

THE  FATHER  OF  HIS  COUNTRY    ....         ....  337 

NOT  A  WISE  SON 343 

A  STERN  BROTHER 347 

THE  RECREANT  GRANDSON 350 

A  STRONG  HAND 353 

SVEA'S  DEAREST  SON 355 

GUSTAF  ADOLF'S  DAUGHTER 360 

A  BOLD  EXPLOIT 365 

THE  PRACTICAL  MAN 368 

A  MILITARY  GENIUS    ...  872 


VII. 


ONE   STAR. 

SHORT-LIVED  HONOR 379 

A   HESSIAN 381 

A  GOOD  CARPENTER 384 

A  DRAMA 387 

A  WANDERER 392 

DUKE  KARL      .  396 


X  CONTENTS. 

VIII. 
THE  BERNADOTTES 

PAGE 

A  MORE  THAN  CROWN  PRINCE 401 

THE  FATHER  OF  Two  KINGS 405 

THE  LAST  KARL 407 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

BY  MALARS  STRAND Frontispiece 

AN  OLD  SWEDISH  HOME 3 

SODERHAMN '  •    •  9 

THE  CATHEDRAL  AT  LUND 19 

TROLLHATTAN  FALLS 23 

A  CANAL  LOCK,  SODERTELJE 29 

SKANSEN 37 

A  VERY  OLD  STREET  IN  STOCKHOLM 42 

THE  TUNNEL 45 

OSCAR  II 48 

THE  KING'S  STUDY 52 

RACING  ON  THE  ROAD 57 

THE  CROWN  PRINCESS 65 

VICTOR  RYDBERG'S  VILLA 71 

THE  RED  COTTAGE 83 

DOMESTIC  DUTIES 85 

ANDERS  AND  BRITA 89 

S.  S.  CASTLE 95 

OLD  TROLLEHOLM  (SKANE) 101 

TYNNELSO 107 

AFTER  THE  FORTUNE-TELLER'S  VISIT 110 

BREAKFAST Ill 

A  PEASANT  CHILD 113 

TYCHO  BRAHE 115 

A  COTTAGE  INTERIOR  .         .         ...                        .     .  120 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

WASHING 127 

THE  BARNYARD 129 

GOING  TO  MARKET 134 

PAYING  TITHES  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME 146 

FREDRIKA  BREMER 169 

THE  CONTRABAND 175 

SKARA  CATHEDRAL 176 

ON  THE  WAY  TO  STOCKHOLM 193 

A  FOOT-PUSHER 195 

HOAR  FROST 197 

A  WINTER  MORNING 201 

BIRCHES  OF  GOTA  CANAL 209 

CHRISTINE  NILSSON 212 

A  SWEDISH  FUNERAL  : 213 

DESOLATE .  231 

IN  MOURNING 287 

UPSALA  CATHEDRAL 249 

MOUNDS  OF  THE  KINGS 253 

A  SWEDISH  PILOT 265 

THE  OLD  WALL  AT  VISBY 273 

UNDER  THE  BIRCHES 275 

HOME  INDUSTRY 279 

GOING  TO  CHURCH 281 

A  GROUP  OF  LAPPS 286 

A  LAPP'S  SILVER  COLLAR 291 

A  LAPP  BABY 292 

A  DEAD  LAPP 295 

VALDEMAR  ATTERDAG  AT  THE  RANSOM  OF  VISBY   .    .  301 

A  NORTHERN  WARRIOR 303 

FRITIOF  AND  INGEBORG 306 

OLD  NORTHERN  HALL 309 

A  RUNIC  STONE 313 

SWEDEN'S  FIRST  MONEY 317 

A  PEASANT  PLOUGHMAN  .                                                  .  324 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  xiii 

PAGE 

THE  KOMAN  HOSPITAL 329 

THE  DEATH  OF  STERN  STURE 334 

GUSTAF  VASA  CONVICTING  THE  TRAITOR 340 

MARKET  SCENE  IN  TIME  OF  ERIK  XIV 345 

JOHAN  III 348 

SIGISMUND 351 

ERIK  DAHLBERG 366 

KARL  XI 369 

KARL  XII.  AND  MAZEPPA 372 

FUNERAL  OF  KARL  XII 375 

IN  THE  TIME  OF  GUSTAF  III 379 

CHRISTOPHER  POLHEM 382 

ADOLF  FREDRIK 385 

THE  UNION  OF  SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY 402 

QUEEN  JOSEPHINE 406 

LANDSCAPE  PAINTED  BY  KARL  XV.           ,    .    .  407 


I. 

SVEA'S  CHILDREN  OF  THE  PRESENT 


SHAKING  HANDS   WITH    SVEA. 

THE  OLD  HOMESTEAD.  STOCKHOLM. 

WHAT   SVEA  TELLS   HER  SEEING  THE  KING. 

CHILDREN.  THE  QUEEN'S  MONUMENT. 

THE  GATEWAYS.  Two  POETS. 

WATER  UTILIZED.  "THE  UNCLES." 


PICTURES    OF    SWEDISH    LIFE. 


THE   OLD   HOMESTEAD. 

\T  7  HO  does  not  remember  some  quiet,  old-fash- 
»  V  ioned  country  home,  where  generation  after 
generation  has  lived  and  died,  loved  and  honored  ? 
There  the  words  from  the  lips  of  the  parents, "  So  your 
grandfather  used  to  do,"  "So  my  grandmother  said," 
have  for  the  children  the  sanction  of  law.  The  old 
family  customs  and  the  old  family  traditions  are  kept 
up,  because  they  are  old  family  customs  and  old  family 
traditions.  What  has  grown  on  the  place  or  has  been 
made  under  the  roof  has  a  special  and  endeared  value. 
Not  only  is  the  homespun  prized  in  such  a  mansion, 
but  the  domestic  virtues  are  there  fostered ;  hospitality, 
thrift,  and  industry  flourish,  and  the  individual  inter- 
est is  lost  in  the  interest  of  the  whole. 

The  household  is  at  the  patriarchal  standpoint, 
and  the  servants  are  its  valued  members.  Their  indi- 
vidual peculiarities  are  a  source  of  amusement  and 
interest.  There  is  not  a  shade  of  pride  or  condescen- 
sion on  the  one  side,  nor  of  false  servility  on  the  other. 
The  servants  are  friends,  to  whom  the  weal  and  woe, 
the  sickness  and  health,  the  life  and  death  of  the  fam- 
ily so  faithfully  served  are  dearer  than  their  own. 

The  master  of  this  old-fashioned  home,  be  he  "judge," 
or  "  colonel,"  or  "  lawmaker,"  pervades  the  whole  estate 


4  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

in  the  summer  time.  Here  he  takes  up  rake  or  pitch- 
fork, or  works  with  the  reapers ;  there  he  stands  and 
talks  with  a  farmer  on  the  state  of  the  crops.  In  the 
winter  he  can  handle  the  axe  at  the  wood-pile,  to  get 
his  blood  in  circulation,  or  shovel  snow  in  the  avenue, 
as  a  pleasant  recreation. 

In  the  drawing-room  a  piece  of  furniture  is  valued 
because  it  is  old  rather  than  because  it  is  new.  The 
cut  of  a  garment  is  not  as  important  as  the  substan- 
tial nature  of  the  material.  Self-respect,  not  pride, 
prompts  the  dwellers  in  that  home  to  be  natural  and 
independent  in  their  actions  and  habits,  without  regard 
to  what  the  neighbors  may  think.  Indeed,  they  have 
no  near  neighbors.  There  is  time  for  a  dainty  damsel 
to  make  any  desirable  change  in  her  dress,  between 
the  appearance  of  a  carriage,  or  a  visitor  on  foot,  at  the 
end  of  the  avenue,  and  the  sounding  of  the  old  brass 
knocker. 

The  sewing-machine  had  hard  work  to  get  admit- 
tance into  that  home,  and  the  needle  refused  to  go  out, 
even  when  the  clicking  stranger  was  fairly  established. 
Stockings  are  knit  there  still,  and  mittens  too,  in  the 
good  old  way. 

There  is  always  a  well-furnished  library  in  such  a 
home.  Dozing  at  the  fireside  is  not  the  custom  in 
winter  evenings.  There  is  ever  somebody  to  read 
aloud,  and  something  too,  new  or  old,  that  is  worth 
reading.  The  boys  go  out  from  such  a  home  eager  for 
knowledge,  and  come  back  to  lay  their  university  hon- 
ors at  their  mother's  feet.  Later  on  in  life,  it  is  a  joy 
for  them  to  know  that  there  will  be  a  twinkle,  then  a 
tear,  in  that  mother's  eye,  as  she  hears  that  the  whole 
nation  is  praising  her  "  boys." 

Not  that  sin  or  temptation  find  no  place  in  such  a 


THE   OLD   HOMESTEAD.  5 

home.  The  old  struggle  goes  on  there  as  elsewhere, 
and  now  and  then  the  victory  is  on  the  wrong  side. 
There  may  be  in  its  chronicles  the  story  of  a  son  who 
was  always  at  home,  a  thorn  in  the  side  for  his  par- 
ents ;  a  poor  limp  lazy  body,  the  bottle  his  destroyer, 
and  the  burning  thirst  within  his  torment.  Another 
boy  may  have  gone  out  reckless,  to  never  return. 
Where  he  is  no  one  knows ;  but  good  prayers  from  that 
quiet  fireside  are  never  lacking  for  him,  and  for  him 
the  mother  pleads  alone  in  secret. 

There  is  outward  deference  in  that  home  to  the  Sab- 
bath, and  on  week-days  to  all  that  is  holy.  Morality 
and  respectability  are  the  rule,  though  not  without 
exceptions.  Only  the  Searcher  of  all  hearts  knows 
how  it  is  with  the  individual  souls.  There  is  little  talk 
about  spiritual  things,  —  more  about  the  church  and 
the  minister ;  but  in  quiet  window-seats  are  the  sisters' 
books  of  devotion,  and  as  to  the  mother,  all  in  the 
house  and  out  of  the  house  reckon  her  for  a  saint. 

There  have  been  in  many  lands,  and  still  are,  such 
homes,  in  spite  of  railroad  and  telegraph  and  telephone ; 
and  happy  are  they  whose  lot  lies  under  such  a  roof. 

This  is  in  a  measure  a  fancy  picture  ;  but  just  such  a 
home,  in  her  own  European  way,  Svea  has  had,  to  a 
certain  extent,  in  which  to  raise  her  children.  She 
does  not  front  on  the  North  Sea,  like  her  twin  sister, 
with  her  face  to  Britannia's  dominions.  "To  Norra- 
way,  to  Norraway,"  ran  the  old  ballad,  and  "  To  Nor- 
way "  has  long  been  the  summer  cry  of  the  travelling 
Englishman. 

Sweden  has  looked  out  on  the  more  quiet  Baltic,  and 
has  had  no  desire  to  be  on  a  familiar  footing  with  the 
Eussian  beyond  the  eastern  waters. 

Nature  made  the  Scandinavian  peninsula  more  than 


6  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

almost  an  island.  The  ice  and  snow  at  the  north,  for 
a  large  part  of  the  year,  tell  no  story  as  to  whether 
they  cover  sea  or  land,  and  can  be  more  impassable 
than  an  open  ocean. 

These  physical  circumstances  have  given  the  Swedes 
a  kind  of  seclusion  in  which  to  develop  their  peculiar 
national  character.  Ingenuity  and  industry  have  been 
fostered  among  the  people  as  a  whole,  and  in  every 
cottage  the  inmates  have  learned  to  supply,  as  far  as 
possible,  their  own  needs.  Where  there  was  little  to 
export,  the  imports  must  be  kept  down  by  making 
available  all  internal  resources.  If  there  were  no  coal, 
stoves  must  be  planned  to  economize  the  heat  from  the 
wood  of  the  ever  rejuvenating  forests.  If  wheat  were 
hard  to  raise,  excepting  in  the  south,  the  agriculturist 
must  take  more  pains  with  his  potatoes  and  his  rye 
and  barley,  and  be  thankful  if  scanty  harvests  did  not 
drive  the  poor  to  mingling  bark  meal  with  the  flour  for 
their  bread. 

If  cotton  would  not  grow,  "  the  blue-eyed  flax  "  was 
more  obliging,  and  the  modest  sheep  could  feed  where 
no  abundant  crops  could  be  raised,  and  woollen  gar- 
ments were  pleasant  in  a  northern  climate  all  the  year 
round.  So  the  Swedes  have  managed  to  supply  for 
themselves  the  necessaries  of  life,  without  depending 
much  on  outsiders. 

The  kings  of  Sweden,  from  the  time  of  Gustaf 
Vasa  and  earlier,  have  been  fond  of  having  free  per- 
sonal intercourse  with  the  humblest  of  the  people,  as 
a  busy  and  dignified  father  likes  now  and  then  to  have 
a  romp  with  his  little  children.  Swedish  history  is 
full  of  stories  of  such  interviews,  —  of  astonished  peas- 
ants and  a  laughing  king,  and  a  parting  golden  gift 
that  made  matters  comfortable  all  round.  A  person 


THE   OLD  HOMESTEAD.  7 

now,  of  any  degree,  who  has  just  cause  of  complaint, 
or  anything  important  to  tell,  can  always  find  access 
to  the  person  of  the  King  to  represent  his  own  cause. 
As  to  the  queens,  some  of  them  have  been  models  of 
housewifely  virtues  and  the  most  scrupulous  thrift. 
One  of  the  consorts  of  Gustaf  Vasa  liked  to  bake  and 
brew  with  her  own  royal  hands,  and  to  make,  her- 
self, little  garments  for  her  many  children. 

Old  historical  tales  and  old  customs  have  had  their 
strong  influence  in  forming  the  character  of  the  Swed- 
ish people.  In  the  country  homes  of  Sweden  the  loom 
is  still  in  use,  and  its  products  carpet  the  floor  in  long 
paths  over  the  white  boards,  and  are  worn  sometimes 
on  occasion  by  mistress  and  maid. 

Sweden  is  insular,  but  not  isolated ;  her  sons  have 
ever  been  rovers,  to  come  back  with  precious  spoil.  It 
is  no  longer  the  golden  treasures  of  ravished  foreign 
shores  that  are  laid  at  Svea's  feet,  but  treasures  of 
knowledge,  and  nature,  and  art,  that  her  sons  have 
won  in  distant  lands.  The  fierce  spirit  that  raged  in 
the  old  vikings,  and  was  toned  down  into  the  invin- 
cible bravery  that  astonished  the  world  in  the  armies 
under  Gustaf  Adolf  and  Karl  XII.,  would  doubtless 
now  flame  up  at  the  bugle  sound  "  to  arms  !  "  In  peace, 
Sweden  has  been  winning  other  conquests.  Korden- 
skiold  has  gathered  his  trophies  in  the  north,  and  John 
Ericsson  in  the  western  world.  Swedish  travellers 
have  come  back  renowned  from  Greenland,  and  from 
Africa,  and  from  Persia,  and  from  Thibet.  The  world 
knows  Svea's  sons ! 


PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


WHAT   SVEA  TELLS   HER  CHILDREN. 

MOTHER  SVEA  seems  to  be  a  widow.  We  never 
hear  of  any  prince  consort  to  share  her  home  and  her 
many  anxieties.  Perhaps  her  husband  was  a  certain 
Odin,  a  hero  of  the  far  past,  who,  it  is  said,  was  not 
sainted,  but  deified,  after  his  death.  This  seems  the 
more  probable,  as  Svea's  older  children  called  him  All- 
father.  Be  all  this  as  it  may,  Svea  appears  to  have  the 
whole  care  of  her  children,  and  devotes  a  great  deal  of 
time  to  their  development  and  education.  . 

Like  most  mothers,  Svea  tells  her  children  they  have 
the  best  home  in  the  world.  She  says  her  homestead 
is  built  on  a  granite  foundation,  and  in  her  cellars  she 
has  iron  and  copper  enough  for  all  time.  She  does  not 
boast  of  her  silver  (though  the  mine  at  Sala  was  once 
reckoned  "the  treasure-house  and  chief  jewel"  of 
Sweden),  but  she  says  she  uses  the  precious  metals  as 
other  people  do  nowadays ;  but  if  hard  times  came, 
and  she  was  at  a  pinch,  she  could  use  bars  of  iron  and 
beams  of  wood  for  her  cash,  and  so  make  all  even  with 
her  neighbors.  Svea  assures  her  children  that  she 
makes  the  best  steel  in  the  world,  let  Britannia  say 
what  she  will,  and  that  her  matches  are  used  all  round 
the  globe.  They  are  to  be  found  even  in  China,  though 
"  sly  John  "  does  sometimes  use  her  Jonkoping  labels 
on  his  boxes,  and  makes  the  matches  himself. 

Svea  thinks  a  child  ought  to  be  able  to  find  his  way 
about  his  own  home  before  he  goes  toddling  round  to 
explore  the  world  at  large.  She  puts,  judging  from  some 


WHAT   SVEA   TELLS   HER   CHILDREN. 


9 


of  her  school  text-books,  Swedography  first,  and  geog- 
raphy comes  afterwards.  A  little  boy  must  have  all 
the  rivers  of  Sweden,  and  their  courses,  definitely  in  his 
mind,  before  he  learns  that  there  are  larger  and  more 
noted  streams  in  the  world.  He  is  expected  to  be  able 
"  to  bound  "  the  twenty-four  provinces  of  his  own  coun- 
try, and  name  their  chief  cities,  —  yes,  and  much  more 


SODERHAMN. 

of  local  importance,  —  before  his  attention  is  called  to 
the  fact  of  the  existence  of  London  or  Paris.  A  boy 
may  be  even  twelve  years  of  age,  and  not  have  reached 
that  part  of  his  geographical  text-book,  where,  after  the 
Eastern  Hemisphere  has  been  carefully  dealt  with,  he 
is  to  learn  something  of  the  new  world  the  other  side 
of  the  water.  Yet  you  are  not  to  think  that  he  knows 
nothing  about  America  all  this  time.  He  has  at  least 
a  cousin  there,  who  gives  the  family  of  which  he  is  a 
member  an  account  of  his  new  home,  couleur  de  rose, 


10  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

or  as  dark  as  midnight,  according  to  his  own  personal 
experiences. 

If  there  is  anything  Svea  is  proud  of,  it  is  her  beau- 
tiful lakes,  larger,  she  says,  than  any  in  the  world,  ex- 
cepting Russia's,  and  some  others  far  away  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  Svea  is  not  afraid  of  water  for 
her  boys ;  she  likes  them  to  be  sailors,  and  boasts  with 
pride  that  they  are  everywhere,  under  every  flag,  and 
are  known  as  the  best  seamen  in  the  world.  She  does 
not  mind  telling  that  just  now  her  boys  are  taking  up 
for  Britannia  wrecks  from  the  depths  of  the  sea,  because 
"England  can  nowhere  find  such  skilful,  honest  sailors 
as  the  Swedes."  Then  Svea  gets  warm  and  says,  •''  My 
children  have  always  slept  best  on  board  ship.  Did 
not  our  family  eat  grapes  in  America  hundreds  of  years 
before  Columbus  went  fumbling  round  among  the  West 
India  Islands,  looking  for  a  continent  that  was  on  this 
side  of  the  world  then  just  as  it  is  now  ? " 

To  her  stay-at-home  children,  Svea  has  much  to  say, 
and  they  are  to  do  as  she  says,  if  they  want  to  keep  in 
her  good  graces.  They  must  learn  to  speak  French, 
and  they  may  speak  as  many  foreign  languages  as  they 
choose  (and  they  have  polyglot  gifts  and  tendencies), 
but  Swedes  they  must  be  in  head  and  heart,  in  morals 
and  in  manners.  "  Do  as  your  forefathers  have  done, 
and  you  can't  go  wrong,"  Svea  says ;  and  then  she  runs 
her  finger  down  the  page  of  history,  and  points  at  the 
shining  examples  of  heroes,  and  patriots,  and  poets,  and 
scientists,  and  adds  solemnly,  "  Be  worthy  of  your  an- 
cestors, and  all  the  world  will  do  you  honor ! " 

In  morals,  Svea's  code  is  the  good  old  code  from  the 
good  old  Book.  She  tells  her  children  that,  for  their 
guidance  in  life  and  their  comfort  in  death,  they  must 
look  to  the  Bible ;  and  that  of  the  Holy  Word,  Doctor 


WHAT  SVEA   TELLS   HER   CHILDREN.  11 

Martin  Luther  is  the  safest  expositor  ;  and  that 
Luther's  catechism  is  the  best  religious  teaching  a 
little  child  can  have,  and  he  ought  to  know  it  by  heart, 
from  cover  to  cover. 

Obedience  to  parents,  loyalty  and  good  manners,  are 
Svea's  strong  points  in  education.  About  good  man- 
ners she  has  no  end  of  instructions. 

"  My  dears,"  says  this  old  Northern  mother,  "  the 
peel  is  but  the  outside  of  the  fruit ;  but  by  that  outside 
you  must  generally  judge  of  its  quality.  You  can't 
taste  here  and  there  before  you  choose  at  the  table  or 
at  a  street  stand.  You  give  a  glance,  you  judge  by  the 
peel,  and  make  your  choice.  That  is  the  way  with 
manners :  they  are  the  outer  indication  of  what  there 
is  within.  You  may  make  a  mistake  here,  as  with  the 
fruit ;  the  exterior  may  both  be  seemly  and  alluring, 
when  all  is  rottenness  within." 

"  You  must  begin  young,  if  you  want  to  have  good 
manners,"  Svea  says,  and  she  follows  out  her  principles. 
As  soon  as  a  boy  is  steady  enough  to  stand  on  his  legs, 
he  must  learn  to  bow,  if  he  falls  over  in  his  first  efforts  ; 
and  a  little  girl,  for  her  salutation,  must  make  a  tiny 
bob-courtesy,  like  the  dimpling  of  a  cork  with  a  min- 
now's nibble.  As  soon  as  the  right  hand  (the  pretty 
hand,  the  Swedes  call  it,  for  children)  is  known  from 
the  left,  it  must  be  put  out  to  be  shaken,  on  the  recep- 
tion of  a  gift  or  favor,  at  the  same  time  that  the  child 
says  the  word,  —  perhaps  the  most  frequently  spoken  in 
the  Swedish  language,  —  "'  tak,"  which  means  "thanks." 
The  utterance  of  "  tak  "  on  all  suitable  occasions,  small 
and  great,  becomes  as  natural  to  Swedes  of  all  degree, 
and  almost  as  unconscious,  as  breath. 

The  bob-courtesy  is  an  essential  particular  in  Swedish 
rules  of  politeness.  It  obtains  everywhere  in  the  coun- 


12  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

try,  and  among  old-fashioned  people  in  Stockholm,  and 
may  even  appear  at  court.  It  is  very  pretty  to  see 
little  children  courtesy  to  their  mothers'  friends,  as 
they  pass  them  in  the  street.  They  make  no  halt,  but 
slightly  bend  the  knee  as  they  go,  like  a  sail-boat  just 
going  down  with  a  little  wave,  and  then  up  in  a  second, 
keeping  on  its  course  all  the  time.  The  boys  have  their 
hats  off  and  on  again,  under  such  circumstances,  as  if 
by  magic. 

"  When  in  conversation,"  Svea  says,  "  never  be  so 
interested  in  the  subject  about  which  you  are  talking 
that  you  forget  who  you  are,  and  whom  you  are  address- 
ing. It  is  a  kind  of  selfish  absorption  that  makes  the 
speaker  oblivious  of  the  claims  of  his  companion,  while 
lost  in  congenial  talk.  So  young  people  grow  too  for- 
ward with  their  elders,  and  inferiors  too  familiar  with 
those  above  them.  It  has  been  well  said,  '  If  the  King 
pats  you  on  the  shoulder  in  a  friendly  way,  you  are  not 
to  pat  the  King  in  return.'  This  is  a  good  warning  for 
every  one,  all  down  the  grades  of  society. 

"  When  you  enter  a  room,  you  speak  first,  of  course, 
to  the  hostess  and  host ;  that  common  sense  would  tell 
you.  You  will  know,  if  you  have  your  wits  about  you, 
which  of  your  acquaintances  to  greet  next.  You  have  of 
course  read  your  Book  of  the  Peerage  (Adels-Kalender), 
and  you  know  'who  is  who,'  and  the  fixed  rules  of 
precedence.  Nobody  takes  offence  at  ytfur  observing 
them. 

"  I  am  not  talking  about  court  etiquette ;  that  is 
quite  another  affair,  my  dears,  and  very  complicated. 
"  Always  address  a  stranger  or  an  acquaintance  in  the 
third  person,  until  you  are  asked  to  do  differently ;  but 
you  must  not  say,  '  Is  he  tired  ? '  or  '  Will  she  go  with 
me  ? '  even  to  a  servant.  It  is  better,  '  Will  dear  good 


"WHAT  SVEA  TELLS   HEE  CHILDREN.  13 

Emma  please  button  my  shoes  ? '  or  '  Will  kind  Kaine 
be  good  enough  to  take  this  basket  for  me  to  my  uncle's  ?' 
Servants  like  that  friendly  way,  and  you  ought  to  make 
them  as  comfortable  as  you  can. 

"  Repeat  the  title  or  the  name  of  the  occupation  of 
the  person  you  address :  *  Is  the  Burgomaster  ready  ? ' 
or  '  May  I  offer  the  Doctor  a  glass  of  water  ? '  Some 
people  are  trying  to  bring  the  English  you  into  fashion, 
but  it  does  not  do  in  Sweden. 

"  When  you  ask  a  gentleman  after  the  health  of  his 
wife,  say  always,  '  How  is  the  Countess  ? '  or  '  How  is 
Doctorinnan  ? '  if  the  husband  is  a  doctor.  You  under- 
stand what  I  mean. 

"  When  you  go  to  make  a  visit,  and  are  shown  into 
an  empty  drawing-room,  you  are  not  to  seat  yourself, 
as  if  you  owned  the  establishment,  but  stand  until  the 
hostess  comes  in,  and  she  will  place  you  where  she 
thinks  best.  Sit  down  where  she  indicates,  and  make 
no  fuss  about  it,  if  she  puts  you  in  the  right  hand 
corner  of  the  very  best  sofa. 

"As  to  sitting  on  the  sofa,  it  is  a  little  puzzling, 
when  you  have  many  guests  of  about  the  same  claims, 
to  know  where  to  place  them.  Those  dear  old-fash- 
ioned sofas,  twelve  feet  long,  the  remains  of  the  grand 
'  high  seat '  of  your  ancestors,  are  out  of  fashion  now. 
It.  was  refreshing  to  see  a  row  of  old  ladies  sitting  on 
them,  talking  in  such  a  low  voice  that  nobody  could 
possibly  hear  what  was  said  a  yard  from  them. 

"  When  the  supper  is  served,  wait  to  see  to  what 
lady  the  hostess  gives  a  little  look,  or  a  gentle  touch, 
to  show  that  she  is  to  go  forward  first,  to  help  herself. 
If  you  are  plainly  the  person  intended,  step  at  once  to 
the  table.  Don't  bend  over  at  a  sharp  angle,  like  a 
penknife  with  the  blade  half  out.  Just  incline  the 


14  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

centre  of  your  body  a  little  to  one  side,  like  an  old- 
fashioned  Frenchman  about  to  make  a  bow,  then  bend 
and  look  about  you,  if  there  is  a  hors  d'ceuvre  (a  collec- 
tion of  little  dishes,  sliced  meat,  sardines,  etc.,  etc.) 
and  make  your  choice  deliberately.  Spread  your  bread 
in  your  hand,  or  on  the  table ;  lay  upon  it  or  on  your 
plate  the  dainty  you  have  chosen,  and  go  your  way, 
to  make  room  for  the  next  comers.  Eat  this  part  of 
the  supper  standing.  Of  course  afterwards  you  sit  at 
one  of  the  little  tables,  which  your  hostess  will  prob- 
ably point  out  to  you. 

"  At  a  dinner  party,  you  must  not  eat  too  slowly ; 
for  as  you  must  leave  no  food  on  your  plate,  you  must 
be  on  the  watch  not  to  keep  the  courses  waiting,  while 
you  are  finishing  off  lazily." 

We  will  not  tell  what  Mother  Svea  says  about  drink- 
ing toasts,  and  clinking  glasses,  and  pretty  speeches, 
or  who  is  to  say  some  nice  and  complimentary  thing 
on  the  part  of  the  company,  to  the  hostess  and  host, 
before  they  leave  the  table ;  but  she  bids  her  children 
on  no  account  to  forget  to  take  their  entertainers  by  the 
hand,  or  bow  and  thank  them  for  the  pleasant  meal. 

"  As  to  meeting  a  gentleman  in  the  street,"  Svea  says, 
"  a  lady  must  never  bow  first,  but  be  in  a  responsive 
frame  of  mind,  and  awake  to  the  slightest  indication 
that  a  masculine  hand  is  going  to  a  hat,  and  come  in 
with  her  own  bow,  as  she  would  with  her  proper  part 
in  a  song. 

"  When  you  walk  in  the  street  with  a  person  older 
or  more  distinguished  than  yourself,"  says  Svea,  "keep 
yourself  always  on  the  left  side  of  your  companion. 
Of  course  a  lady  always  has  the  right  arm  of  a  gentle- 
man offered  to  her.  She  does  not  take  it,  though,  in 
the  street,  unless  she  is  old  or  betrothed  to  him.  If  she 


WHAT   SVEA  TELLS   HER  CHILDREN.  15 

does,  it  is  like  announcing  to  the  public  that  they  are 
'  engaged '  to  each  other." 

Svea  says  little  about  dress  to  her  daughters  in  the 
upper  circles  of  society.  She  knows  very  well  that 
what  is  the  last  fashion  in  Paris  or  San  Francisco  is 
now,  or  soon  will  be,  the  last  fashion  in  Stockholm. 
But  to  the  peasant  girls  Svea  would  like  to  say,  "  Keep 
to  the  charming  old  costume  that  your  mother  and  your 
grandmother  and  your  great-grandmother  wore  before 
you."  She  does  not  say  it,  and  it  would  be  of  no  use 
if  she  did.  It  is  only  in  a  few  districts  that  these  gay 
and  very  pretty  costumes  are  still  worn,  simply  and 
naturally  by  the  peasants  themselves.  At  country 
seats,  and  sometimes  even  in  the  small  cities,  young 
ladies  may  be  seen  going  about  dressed  like  Dalecarlian 
girls,  or  peasants  f rom . Vingaker  or  Skane,  etc.  These 
counterfeit  rustics  have  no  more  charm  about  them 
than  a  damsel  would  have  roaming  wood  and  high 
road  dressed  in  bridal  dress  and  veil,  when  she  had  no 
bridegroom  to  honor  by  the  display.  There  is  no 
sentiment,  no  sense  of  rural  life,  in  this  masquerading 
by  daylight. 

To  her  sons,  Svea  says :  "  A  pretty  lady  in  full  dress 
always  looks  well ;  but  her  cavalier,  to  properly  match 
her,  should  wear  a  uniform.  My  sons,  get  a  uniform  if 
you  can  ;  then  you  are  always  ready  to  wait  on  any  fair 
lady,  and  for  any  society,  if  it  is  to  dine  with  the  King 
himself.  It  is  not  a  hard  matter,  for  I  give  a  uniform 
or  pretty  buttons  to  almost  all  who  are  directly  in  my 
service.  Not  that  I  exactly  give  them,  but  I  let  the 
privilege  of  wearing  them  go  with  the  office,  and  say, 
myself,  how  they  should  be  made. 

"  If  you  have  no  uniform,  you  must  have  an  order. 
Don't  say  you  don't  want  one ;  that 's  foolish.  The 


16  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

very  republicans,  the  other  side  of  the  water,  like  to 
have  their  blue  ribbons  and  their  Good  Templar  badges, 
and  give  up  for  their  badges  what  most  of  my  children 
own  to  be  the  best  drink  in  the  world.  Orders  have 
their  uses,  too,  as  well  as  being  a  great  honor.  What 
did  Balzar  von  Platen  say  when  he  got  the  order  of 
the  Seraphim  ?  —  that  he  '  could  wear  any  old  coat  he 
pleased,  now  he  had  such  a  decoration.'  There  is  no 
use  to  talk  about  it,  —  orders  suit  full  dress,  and  they 
should  be  prized  as  an  expression  of  approbation  given 
by  one's  king." 

Svea  grows  serious,  and  says  :  "  I  need  not  tell  you 
to  'submit  yourselves  to  the  powers  that  be,'  for  that  the 
Bible  has  said  before  me ;  but  you  are  not  to  flatter  your 
king,  and  bow  down  to  him  as  something  more  than 
human.  You  may  modestly  remember,  even  in  his 
presence,  that  you  are  a  Swede,  a  free  man,  a  citizen  of 
a  country  where  law  is  protected ;  and  though  the  King 
should  have  all  due  respect,  the  subject  is  still  master 
in  his  own  home. 

"  Live,  each  one  of  you,  by  your  own  fireside,  as 
becomes  a  Swede,  a  Lutheran,  and  a  Christian,  and  all 
will  go  well  in  the  old  homestead." 


THE   GATEWAYS.  17 


THE   GATEWAYS. 

THE  times  have  gone  by  when  we  could  simply  say 
that  a  man  was  a  hard  student,  or  a  ripe  scholar ;  or, 
of  a  gifted  boy,  that  he  was,  in  cottage  phrase,  "  fond 
of  his  book."  We  must  hear  what  is  read  or  studied, 
if  we  want  to  judge  what  the  reader  is,  or  is  to  be.  In 
this  age  of  specialties,  it  is  much  the  same  with 
regard  to  travelling.  We  like  to  know  what  a  man 
wishes  to  see,  rather  thaii  simply  that  he  is  fond  of 
sight-seeing. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  country  that  has  among  its 
visitors  a  larger  proportion  of  specialists  than  Sweden. 
Of  course  there  are  individuals  who  have  been,  as 
they  say,  everywhere  else,  and  have  come  to  the  North 
as  a  last  resort  for  summer  recreation.  There  are, 
also,  the  disciplined  parties,  under  experienced  leaders, 
where  all  must  see  the  same  things  together,  but  with 
different  eyes.  He  who  has  been  listless  and  unin- 
terested in  the  picture  gallery,  is  wide  awake  and 
delighted  at  the  porcelain  factory.  A  young  "  Miss  " 
is  filling  her  herbarium  from  the  rich  flora  of  the  land 
of  Linnaeus,  while  her  brother  goes  about  with  his  little 
hammer,  and  fills  his  pocket  with  stones.  All,  in  due 
time,  see  something  they  really  care  to  see,  and  learn 
much  they  would  never  have  learned  in  any  other 
way. 

The  hunter  finds  the  familiar  game  that  he  has 
delighted  to  kill  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
he  is  pleased  to  become  acquainted  with  the  tenants  of 

2 


18  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

the  woods  to  which  Walter  Scott  so  loved  to  allude, 
although  in  a  new  land  they  bear  a  new  name.  He 
even  declares  that  the  imposing  elk  has  a  larger  family 
connection  then  he  has  in  the  New  World. 

Now  and  then  the  foreign  sportsman  bags  a  bird 
that  is  new  to  him,  or  lands  a  fish  that  he  cannot 
claim  as  an  acquaintance. 

The  more  serious  travellers  have  historical  studies 
to  prosecute,  or  gymnastics  for  the  sick  and  the  well  to 
study,  or  the  different  systems  of  slojd  (handiwork) 
to  master,  or  to  see  nature  in  its  northern  guise,  or 
to  note  the  peculiarities  of  the  northern  climate,  or 
perhaps  are  sufficiently  adventurous  to  be  eager  to 
observe  curiously  or  scientifically  the  midnight  sun. 
To  one  and  all  we  can  promise  in  Sweden  an  inter- 
esting journey,  and  everywhere  a  courteous  reception. 

Swedes  who  have  been  in  Germany,  or  the  sunny 
South,  generally  return  home  by  the  admirable  line  of 
large  steamers  plying  between  Lubeck  and  Stockholm. 
Strangers  from  Eastern  Europe  come  in,  too,  by  the 
grand  entrance  to  Sweden  through  the  beautiful 
harbor  of  the  capital,  and  knock  at  once  at  the  main 
door  of  the  old  homestead.  Travellers  from  the 
western  side  of  the  Old  World,  and  from  the  far  West 
of  the  New,  often  modestly  slip  into  Ultima  Thule 
by  the  southern  portal,  at  Malmo,  or  the  wide  side 
gateway,  at  G-oteborg.  They  thus  have  time  to  come 
courteously  forward,  not  unprepared  to  greet  suitably 
the  Queen  of  the  North. 

A  traveller  landing  at  Malmo  has  all  Sweden  before 
him,  stretching  northward  as  far  as  anybody,  not  an 
arctic  explorer,  would  wish  to  venture.  He  has  a 
country  before  him  that  could  cover  over  like  a 
blanket  the  Old  Thirteen,  if  they  were  now  what  they 


THE   GATEWAYS. 


19 


were  in  the  days  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Columbia,  in  her  present  spacious  home,  could  take 
in  the  whole  Swedish  population,  and  experience  no 
particular  inconvenience  from  the  stretch  of  her 
hospitality.  She  could,  too,  without  difficulty,  stow 
away  their  native  land,  that  is  about  as  long  as  the 


THE   CATHEDKAL   AT   LUND. 

Mississippi,  between  that  great  river  and  the  Eocky 
Mountains,  and  have  a  bit  of  ground  to  spare  there 
still  for  her  Indian  children. 

A  traveller  landing  at  Malmo  is  at  once  in  the  most 
fruitful  and  the  most  thickly  populated  part  of 
Sweden.  Bright  fields  of  wheat  and  dark  forests  of 
the  beech-trees  greet  his  eyes.  He  will  probably  not 
linger  long  in  the  province  of  Skane,  unless  he  wants 
to  see,  at  Lund,  the  odd  old  Cathedral  or  the  southern 


20  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

university.  He  is  northward  bound.  It  will  soon  be 
"  comiii'  thro'  the  rye  "  for  him,  while  from  farther  up 
will  sing  out  an  echo  from  the  song  of  his  childhood, 

"  Oats,  peas,  beans,  and  barley  O  !  " 

But  perhaps  the  stranger  has  entered  Sweden  at 
Goteborg,  a  course  which  has  many  advantages,  es- 
pecially for  Americans.  If  Sweden  be  the  real  aim 
and  goal  of  his  journey,  it  is  shortly  and  cheaply 
reached  by  crossing  from  Liverpool  to  Hull,  taking 
two  days  on  the  North  Sea,  and  the  desired  haven  is 
reached. 

If  the  waves  have  not  been  too  high,  and  the 
traveller,  consequently,  "  too  low  in  his  mind "  for 
conversation,  he  has  probably  made  some  pleasant 
Swedish  acquaintances  on  board,  and  has  already  a 
few  words  of  their  language  at  command,  while  he 
has  possibly  been  astonished  at  their  proficiency  in 
speaking  his  own. 

Of  course  the  wise  stranger  has  his  "Guide  through 
Sweden,"  in  English,  in  his  possession,  his  Murray  or 
Baedeker,  to  tell  him  what  to  see,  and  how  to  see  it. 
He  "  does  "  Goteborg  properly,  then  goes  up  the  eleven 
watery  terraces  at  Trollhattan,  and  politely  admires 
the  five  small  cataracts  dashing  cheerfully  downward, 
content  to  have  been  defeated  by  Swedish  engineering. 
No  doubt  the  American  traveller  has  his  private  under- 
current of  swelling  pride,  meanwrhile,  as  he  secretly 
thinks  of  the  majesty  of  his  own  peerless  Niagara, 
and  the  thundering  roar  of  its  exhaustless  waters. 

The  tourist  will  increase  his  Swedish  vocabulary  at 
every  loch  and  stopping-place,  the  little  peasant 
guides,  who  will  throng  about  him,  being  his  teachers. 
He  will  pick  Swedish  flowers,  and  find  old  acquaint- 


THE   GATEWAYS.  21 

ances  with  pretty  new  names,  and  perhaps  he  will  enter 
a  red  cottage  or  a  wayside  restaurant,  and  be  offered  a 
glass  of  milk  as  a  natural  drink  for  a  thirsty  man,  not 
to  speak  of  stronger  potions.  He  has  grown  rich  sud- 
denly, he  finds.  The  contents  of  his  portemonnaie 
seem  to.  have  been  almost  quadrupled.  A  copper 
cent  has  become  three  ore  and  seven-tenths.  For 
one  ore  he  has  just  bought  the  most  delicious  little 
crisp  biscuit,  that  seemed  just  made  to  give  an  extra 
relish  for  a  glass  of  good  milk. 

We  leave  the  journey  to  this  traveller,  this  nouveau 
riche,  and  his  guide-book,  until  he  is  fairly  floating 
through  the  last  of  the  two  bright  bands  that  form 
the  Sodertelge  Canal,  and  has  Lake  Malar  opening  its 
mirror  before  him.  The  people  of  the  little  town  of 
Sodertelge,  close  at  hand,  cannot  see  him,  gliding  along 
through  the  deepest  canal  cut  in  Europe.  The  green, 
closely  mown  slopes  are  miniatures  of  those  treacherous 
Alpine  declivities  where  the  mountaineer  safely  cuts 
the  grass,  and  bears  it  home  in  the  "  hotte "  on  his 
back,  but  where  the  incautious  traveller  may  slide  down 
to  certain  death.  Those  beautiful  banks  at  Sodertelge  — 
and  the  still  water  —  have  allured  to  suicide  more  than 
one  sad  heart,  — 

"  Mad  from  life's  history, 

Glad  to  death's  mystery, 

Swift  to  be  hurled  — 

Anywhere,  anywhere 

Out  of  the  world." 

Of  course  nobody  tells  the  stranger  any  such  dread- 
ful stories,  to  destroy  the  sweet  dream  of  peace  into 
which  he  falls  as  he  moves  quietly  through  Lake 
Malar's  beauty,  and  brightness,  and  calm.  Stockholm 
is  reached  before  he  is  looking  out  for  it.  Beautiful 


22  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Stockholm !  Thousands  have  described  it  by  word  of 
mouth  and  with  the  gifted  pen,  and  yet  it  is  new 
every  day  to  some  foreigner's  wondering  eyes.  No  de- 
scription, no  photograph,  has  given  the  real  picture  to 
his  mind.  The  stranger  is  no  longer  like  a  stranger :  the 
inhabitants  may  speak  what  language  they  will,  they 
may  be  all  deaf  mutes  if  they  must  be,  but  the  fact 
remains  the  same,  —  they  have  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
cities  of  the  world,  and  he  is  enjoying  it  with  them. 
He  is  more  than  a  far-off  cousin !  He  is  a  brother 
man,  to  praise  with  them  the  charms  of  the  city  of 
many  islands,  the  city  of  many  hills,  the  Empress  of 
the  North  he  has  come  so  far  to  see,  and  is  satisfied 
with  the  seeing. 


WATER   UTILIZED.  23 


WATER   UTILIZED. 

THE  Swede  is  by  nature  almost  an  aquatic,  or  rather 
amphibious,  animal.  It  is  his  delight  to  be  in,  as 
well  as  on,  the  water.  Not  that  the  open  air  cold 
winter  plunge  of  St.  Erik  is  much  in  vogue,  but  its 
equivalent,  in  many  city  homes,  and  in  the  public 
bathing-houses,  is  to  be  found,  all  the  year  round,  and 
diligently  used  by  people  of  all  classes. 

In  summer  the  whole  population  of  Sweden  takes 
to  the  water  by  common  consent.  The  owner  of  a  cot- 
tage or  villa  for  the  warm  weather  has  comparatively 
little  hope  of  letting  it  favorably,  if  it  does  not  lie  by 
the  coast,  or  near  some  bay  or  stream  or  lake,  to 
brighten  the  view  and  afford  a  chance  for  a  daily  bath 
for  the  desired  tenants. 

As  to  swimming,  it  is  an  accomplishment  that  must 
be  early  learned,  if  anxious  mammas  are  to  have  any 
peace  of  mind.  With  shores  that  are  in  many  cases 
precipitous,  with  unknown  depths  of  water  below,  a 
steamboat  landing  at  almost  every  country  seat  or  sub- 
stantial villa,  or  a  pier  where  the  row-boat  (the  sum- 
mer family  carriage)  is  to  be  tethered,  children  could 
hardly  be  trusted  out  of  sight  for  a  moment,  if  they 
were  not  swimmers  at  the  very  earliest  possible  age. 

One  of  the  amusements  of  Stockholm  is  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  exhibition  of  the  proficiency  of  the  pupils 
at  the  fine  swimming-school.  Such  jumping  and  div- 
ing, such  skill  in  all  the  arts  that  the  fish  and  the  frog 
know  by  nature,  it  is  most  diverting  to  see.  At  one  of 


24  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

these  exhibitions  the  spectators  were  witnesses  to  an 
unexpected  performance.  A  lady,  apparently  lost  in 
watching  the  swimmers,  ventured  over  the  very  edge 
of  the  great  tank  that  is  the  field  of  operation  for,  may 
we  say,  the  "  aquabats."  She  suddenly  lost  her  balance, 
and  fell  into  the  deep  water,  parasol  in  hand.  A  gen- 
tleman, "all  accoutred  as  he  was,"  plunged  in  after 
her.  His  high  hat  floated  one  way,  and  her  parasol 
the  other ;  but  there  was  no  smile  on  the  eager,  solemn 
faces  of  the  lookers-on.  The  gentleman  threw  off  his 
coat  and  boots  in  the  water,  and  dived  after  the  sink- 
ing form  of  the  lady,  rescued  her,  and  was  soon  bearing 
the  dripping  figure  to  the  platform,  amid  thunders  of 
applause.  Hearty  and  heartfelt  applause  it  was ;  but 
there  were  some  among  the  observers  who  knew  that 
all  this  was  a  preconcerted  part  of  the  performance,  to 
show,  as  Sam  Patch  said,  "  that  some  things  could  be 
done  as  well  as  others." 

Girls  in  Sweden  take  part  in  long  swimming  con- 
tests in  the  bays  and  lakes,  and  not  seldom  win  the 
prizes,  as  they  do  in  many  competitions  in  these  days 
of  progress. 

The  abounding  waters  of  Sweden  are  not  only  a 
source  of  health  and  pleasure,  they  are  the  high-roads, 
in  many  regions,  for  the  purposes  of  domestic  life.  The 
market  women  from  the  neighboring  islands  may  bring 
to  your  country  home  by  their  boats,  fish,  garden  vege- 
tables, berries,  and  even  dainty  bouquets.  So  the 
peddlers  of  earthen  and  tin  ware  may  arrive,  and  even 
tramps  to  beg,  or  thieves  by  night  to  break  into  your 
cellar  and  select  from  your  stores  what  suits  their 
fancy.  The  inevitable  "  sweeps  "  have  been  known  to 
come  sailing  up  to  the  landing  of  a  villa ;  but  they  are 
sporting  characters  by  taste  and  vocation,  and  may 


WATER   UTILIZED.  25 

make  their  descent  in  winter  gliding  on  the  swift 
"skidor,"  or  their  fall  visitation  whirling  along  on 
bicycles,  flying  through  the  country  like  dark  sprites 
out  on  some  uncanny  errand. 

You  may  yourself,  to  avoid  a  long  drive,  row  or  take 
a  sail-boat  to  attend  the  nearest  church  on  a  Sunday 
morning,  the  clergyman  himself  arriving  in  a  similar 
fashion.  Not  very  long  since  such  a  reverend  gentle- 
man, on  his  return  trip,  was  upset  with  his  family  within 
the  sound  of  the  church  bell  and  in  sight  of  his  dis- 
persing congregation.  The  dripping  party  were  all 
rescued  and  cared  for,  and  comfortably  sent  home :  so 
one  can  tell  the  story  in  a  cheerful  mood. 

The  structure  of  the  coasts  of  the  Scandinavian 
peninsula,  cut  into  by  long  winding  bays  and  adorned 
by  beautiful  necklaces  of  rocky  islands,  suggests  at 
once  the  home  of  the  fisherman  and  the  skilful  sailor. 
In  the  early  days,  when  roads  were  rarities  and  dense 
wide  forests  the  resort  of  outlaws  and  wild  bands  of 
marauders,  travelling  by  land  was  a  dangerous  under- 
taking. It  was  natural  that  the  "creekers,"  or  bay 
dwellers,  the  vik  ings  (vik  means  bay),  had  their  "  march 
on  the  mountain  wave,"  if  not  always  their  "  home  on 
the  sea."  Living  on  the  borders  of  a  bay,  it  was  easier 
and  safer  to  visit  a  neighbor  on  the  other  side  of  his 
peninsula  by  water  than  by  land.  "  The  longest  way 
round"  in  a  boat  was  the  "shortest  and  safest  way 
home." 

Trained  from  youth  to  trim  the  sail  and  to  handle  the 
rudder  and  the  oar,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  Northmen 
became  adventurous  sailors  on  the  great  waters  far 
from  their  own  shores.  "  North  Sea,  English  Coast, 
Hebrides,  Iceland,  Greenland,  Newfoundland,  Rhode 
Island,"  are  said  to  have  been  early  items  in  the  out- 


26  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

lined  trips  of  their  old  "  Tourists'  Association."  l  These 
stopping-places  were  no  doubt  duly  described  orally 
on  the  return  home  of  the  voyagers,  and  some  of  them 
left  records,  that  were  embodied  in  writing,  of  what 
they  saw  in  far  "  Vineland,"  in  the  country  then  inno- 
cent of  Columbus,  or  Americus  Vespucius,  or  any  of 
those  southern  explorers  of  the  West. 

An  old  viking,  sitting  down  in  his  home  at  last, 
with  the  spoils  of  his  many  voyages  about  him  (rich 
draperies  from  Eastern  looms,  bought  in  Gotland,  or 
boots  from  distant  Spain,  or  money  coined  in  fair 
Italy),  must  have  chafed  sometimes  at  the  thought  of 
opportunities  lost  at  home,  in  a  small  way,  for  his  favor- 
ite pastimes,  and  little  trips  suitable  for  his  declining 
years.  Such  lakes  and  rivers  as  these  were  in  his 
own  country,  going  to  waste,  as  it  were,  "  in  their  lone- 
ness,"  when  they  might  almost  shake  hands  with  each 
other.  He  had  long  ago,  no  doubt,  had  the  rivers  that 
were  navigable  under  his  command.  As  to  the  water- 
falls, they  worked  for  him  at  a  very  early  day.  He 
could  cut  his  masts  and  his  timbers  for  his  vessels 
on  the  heights,  and  the  gayly  flowing  rivers  would  bear 
them  down  the  coast  and  land  them,  in  due  time, 
if  not  as  by  express,  just  where  he  wanted  them  to  be. 
A  cataract  or  so  would  make  no  difference  in  the  end, 
though  there  might  be  a  little  clogging,  and  a  delay 
now  and  then. 

Those  great  lakes,  though,  had  no  right  to  shine  there 
alone,  one  by  one,  when  they  ought  to  be  linked 
together.  The  viking  could  not,  like  the  Indian,  take  up 
a  light  bark  canoe,  and  carry  it  easily  round  water- 
falls, or  from  lake  to  lake.  The  Northmen's  boats  were 
made  of  sterner  and  heavier  stuff,  and  for  rougher 

1  The  Tourists'  Association  (Turist  Foscning,  —  Stockholm  address). 


WATER  UTILIZED.  27 

usage.  There  was  almost  a  path  by  water,  "  the  only 
proper  mode  of  travelling,"  from  the  waves  of  the 
western  sea  to  those  of  the  Baltic ;  but  no  viking  was 
to  find  his  way  along  that  unopened  inland  route. 

Thoughts  on  this  subject  were  no  doubt  glimmer- 
ing in  the  Northman's  mind  far  back  in  the  past,  —  a 
hidden,  smouldering  fire  for  long  centuries.  Now  and 
then  a  spark  would  come  up,  or  a  whiff  of  smoke,  or  a 
struggling  flame ;  but  the  fire  did  not  fully  burst  forth, 
—  the  thoughts  took  no  definite,  practical  shape.  The 
water  continued  to  do  its  own  natural  work,  but  the  diffi- 
culties of  up-hill  transportation  were  not  surmounted. 

The  subtile  and  ingenious  Catholic,  Bishop  Brask,  in 
the  time  of  Gustaf  Vasa  (1521-1560),  had  his  own 
plans  for  connecting  the  Swedish  waters,  in  which  his 
wise  King  concurred ;  but  those  were  stirring  times, 
when  fighting  was  a  more  popular  trade  than  engineer- 
ing, and  nothing  definite  was  done  or  undertaken. 

Trollhattan  with  its  leaping  cataracts,  and  the  freaks 
of  Gb'ta  River  (Gotaalf)  guarded  the  entrance  to  Lake 
Vaner  (Vanern).  They  must  be  outwitted,  if  the  path 
were  to  be  opened  from  the  great  lake  to  the  sea.  It 
came  plainly  to  the  mind  of  engineers  (especially  to  that 
of  Polhem  in  the  time  of  Karl  XII.)  that  if  one  loch 
could  enable  a  boat  to  mount  one  small  elevation,  many 
might  do  the  same  for  a  greater.  There  might  be  a 
watery  staircase,  where  loaded  vessels  could  pass  safely 
up  and  down,  to  the  music  of  the  falling  waters, 
defeated,  made  useful,  but  not  robbed  of  their  song. 

The  work  was  begun,  broken  off,  resumed,  and  broken 
off  again,  until  the  year  1800,  when  the  first  boat  fairly 
passed  through  the  completed  canal  between  "  Vanern  " 
and  the  western  salt  water. 

Gota  Canal  was  quite  another  undertaking.     Vanern 


28  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

must  shake  hands  with  the  Baltic  on  the  east,  as  it 
had  with  the  western  sea.  Gota  Canal  is  a  kind  of 
family  name  for  the  series  of  little  canals  of  which  it 
is  made  up.  They  have  each  their  separate  names  and 
character,  and  in  the  construction  of  each  there  were 
special  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  For  this  great 
work  an  energetic,  skilful,  gifted  engineer  was  being 
prepared.  At  Trollhattan,  among  the  directors  of  the 
new  canal,  Balzar  vori  Platen  had  been  in  the  best 
possible  school  for  his  future  undertakings,  nor  had  his 
early  training  for  his  life-work  been  inadequate.  Edu- 
cated for  the  navy  in  the  state  school  for  the  pur- 
pose, he  had  at  his  own  desire  learned  practical  sea- 
manship during  three  years  spent  in  the  merchant 
service.  He  had  been  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  when 
Karl  XIII.  won  his  laurels,  and  had  had  time  to  think 
over  his  experience,  in  his  long  confinement  in  a  Rus- 
sian prison. 

After  rising  high  in  the  navy,  von  Platen  resigned 
his  position  in  1800,  being  then  thirty-four  years  of 
age.  Peace,  and  even  victory  and  unfading  laurels,  were 
in  store  for  him.  Before  honored  with  many  impor- 
tant positions,  Balzar  »von  Platen  became,  in  1801,  one 
of  the  directors  for  Trollhatten  Canal  Company.  His 
thoughts  turned  more  and  more  to  the  oft-suggested 
plan  of  uniting  the  waters  of  the  North  Sea  and  the 
Baltic.  It  was  not  until  1809  that  the  Riksdag  in- 
dorsed the  undertaking,  and  pledged  the  means  for 
commencing  it.  Von  Platen  was  the  man  for  the  great 
work  he  had  proposed.  He  understood  not  only  how 
to  guide  and  govern  waters,  but  to  judge  of  human  capa- 
bility to  assist  him  in  carrying  out  his  plans.  He  had 
a  sharp-sighted  perception  of  talent  and  worth. 

After  seeing  the  drawings  of  "  little  John  Ericsson," 


WATER  UTILIZED.  29 

then  thirteen  years  of  age,  von  Platen  said  to  him, 
"  Keep  on,  my  boy,  as  you  have  begun,  and  you  will 
one  day  do  great  things ! "  Platen  not  only  uttered 
this  prophecy  for  the  future,  but  he  immediately  lent 
a  hand  towards  its  fulfilment.  The  young  engineer 
was  at  once  given  employment,  and  soon  had  the  com- 
mand of  six  hundred  men,  although  he  was  so  small 
that  he  must  stand  on  a  chair  when  he  used  the 
theodolite.  A  child  he  still  was  in  some  ways.  Nils 
Ericsson,  John's  brother  (afterwards  the  distinguished 
engineer,  Baron  Ericsson),  was  also  taken  into  von 
Platen's  employ.  The  boys  had  one  day  been  at  some 
mischievous  pranks;  Von  Platen  reproved  them  sharply, 
and  they  answered  quite  too  independently  for  his 
ideas  of  discipline.  His  wife,  who  sat  at  her  sewing  in 
an  adjoining  room,  feared  an  outbreak  of  her  husband's 
hasty  temper,  that  might  make  him  deal  out  punishment 
with  a  too  heavy  hand.  She  instantly  knocked  over 
the  work-table  beside  her.  The  sudden  crash  brought 
Platen  at  once  to  her  side,  all  tender  inquiry  as  to 
what  had  happened  to  her.  His  attention  had  been 
for  the  moment  diverted,  and  her  purpose  was  accom- 
plished. He  only  needed  time  to  think,  to  make  him 
a  just  and  kind  as  well  as  thorough  disciplinarian. 
Platen  did  not  live  to  see  the  triumphs  of  the  gifted 
boy  he  had  befriended.  He  had  long  been  dead  when 
the  white  ship  lay  silently  at  anchor,  like  a  spirit 
witness  from  afar,  while  Sweden's  capital,  in  solemn 
mourning,  received  John  Ericsson's  honored  remains, 
to  be  buried  in  the  land  that  had  been  so  dear  to  him 
in  all  his  wanderings. 

So  much  by  way  of  a  perhaps  permissible  digression. 
"  Gota  Canal  and  Motala  workshops  were  the  creations 
of  Balzar  von  Platen.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  of 


30  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

these  great  works  have  been  of  most  advantage  to 
Sweden.  Both  had  a  long  struggle  before  they  had 
a  certain  and  assured  existence.  Platen's  was  no  easy 
triumph.  Difficulties  were  liberally  thrown  in  his  way, 
and  contempt  lavished  on  his  undertaking.  A  member 
of  the  Eiksdag  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  only 
water  that  would  ever  flow  in  Gota  Canal  would  be 
from  the  tears  of  the  stockholders." 

Thirty  years  had  passed  since  Platen  had  resolved 
that  the  vague  plans  long  since  suggested  for  Gota 
Canal  should  become  realities.  No  opposition  or  dis- 
couragements had  made  him  swerve  from  his  firm 
purpose.  Of  success  in  the  end  he  was  confident. 
He  was  now  past  sixty  years  of  age.  His  body  was 
failing,  but  his  fire,  his  energy,  and  his  indomitable 
will  were  in  full  force.  Gota  Canal  was  his  life-work ; 
it  must  be  completed.  Meanwhile,  he  was  slowly 
sinking.  At  various  times  he  had  expressed  his 
wishes  concerning  all  arrangements  that  would  follow 
his  death.  They  were  like  him. 

"Let  my  funeral  be  as  simple  as  the  laws  of  the 
Church  will  allow.  Cover  me  with  the  flag  of  my 
country.  Bury  me  at  Motala.  Let  my  monument 
be  a  flat  stone  from  the  lime  quarries  of  the  canal. 
Let  nothing  stand  there  but  '  Count  B.  B.  von  Platen.' 
The  rest  they  know." 

After  but  a  few  days  in  his  sick-room,  the  great 
engineer  heard  a  sound  like  the  rushing  of  waters. 
He  knew  it  was  not  the  familiar  dash  of  Trollhattan, 
but  the  solemn  roll  of  Jordan,  and  quietly  and  con- 
sciously he  "  crossed  the  river." 

Again,  in  this  strange  world,  the  crown  that  had 
been  denied  to  the  living  was  granted  to  the  dead. 
After  von  Platen's  death  (1830)  had  been  announced 


WATER   UTILIZED.  31 

to  the  Riksdag,  the   long   desired   appropriation  was 
made  for  the  completion  of  Gota  Canal. 

In  1832  the  union  of  the  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic 
was  effected,  and  celebrated  with  suitable  festivities ; 
but  he  who  had  planned  and  witnessed  their  betrothal 
was  not  among  the  wedding  guests. 


32  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 


STOCKHOLM. 

IN  Sweden,  one  can  go  to  the  city,  and  see  nothing 
at  which  to  be  astonished,  excepting  the  exceeding 
smallness  of  the  city  itself.  Of  the  ninety-two  cities 
in  Sweden,  twelve  have  less  than  one  thousand  inhab- 
itants, and  little  Falsterbo  cannot  always  boast  its 
three  hundred  and  fifty.  Sigtuna,  in  primitive  days 
the  pride  of  the  land,  now,  in  its  dwindled  old  age,  begs 
to  be  no  longer  a  city.  Skara,  that  could  once  show 
its  eleven  churches,  is  now  small  indeed,  though  it 
has  still  its  beautiful  cathedral,  recently  restored. 
Skara  has  its  pride  in  the  past  and  its  honorable 
antiquity.  Whitelock,  the  English  ambassador  to 
Sweden  in  the  days  of  Cromwell,  says  in  his  diary 
that  he  was  told  at  Skara  that  the  name  was  given 
to  the  place  by  a  travelling  servant  of  Abraham,  who 
called  it  after  his  mistress  Sara,  eventually  corrupted 
to  its  present  appellation.  Every  well-drilled  school- 
boy in  Sweden  has  at  his  tongue's  end  the  twelve 
cities  of  his  native  land  that  number  more  than  ten 
thousand  inhabitants,  —  Stockholm,  Goteborg,  Malmo, 
Norrkoping,  Gefle,  Upsala,  Jonkoping,  Karlskrona, 
Helsingborg,  Lund,  Orebro,  Kalmar. 

Stockholm,  as  becomes  the  capital,  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  list,  and  has,  with  its  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  a  population  far  more  than 
double  that  of  its  largest  competitor,  Goteborg. 
Like  London,  Stockholm  has  its  city  within  a  city. 


STOCKHOLM.  33 

This  old  nucleus  of  the  metropolis,  fortified  by  wise 
Birger  Jarl,  at  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century,  is 
on  an  island  "  between  the  bridges,"  where  Lake  Malar 
has  its  rushing  outlets  to  the  salt  harbor.  Holm 
means  island,  and  once  knowing  this  bit  of  Swedish, 
you  easily  appreciate  that  a  group  of  isles  once  clus- 
tered in  greenness  or  raised  their  bare  rocks  from  the 
surrounding  waters  where  the  present  great  city  now 
stands.  We  still  have  the  names  Riddar-Ao/ra,  Kungs- 
holm,  Blasie-/M>/?7i,  Kastell-Ao/m,  Skepps-holm,  of  most 
of  which  parts  of  Stockholm  the  old  watery  boun- 
daries can  be  traced,  to  tell  of  those  islands  that  Birger 
Jarl  banded  together  in  his  far-seeing  mind  as  the  seat 
of  the  future  capital. 

The  city  proper,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  palace, 
with  its  narrow  streets  and  its  queer  old  high  build- 
ings, does  not  need  any  garrulous  guide  to  proclaim 
its  antiquity.  Where  the  Cunard  steamers  now  have 
their  flaming  advertisements,  courtiers  in  "  slashed 
doublet  and  trunk  hose"  have  clashed  their  swords 
in  street  encounters,  and  fine  ladies  have  peeped  out 
from  gilded  carriages  so  heavy  that  they  well  might 
have  needed  four  horses  to  draw  them,  even  without 
the  fair  passengers. 

That  was  the  Stockholm  of  the  past.  The  Stock- 
holm of  the  present  a  traveller  may  well  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  see.  If  he  has  but  one  day  to  spend  at 
the  Grand  Hotel,  and  is  that  day  an  imprisoned 
invalid,  he  will  go  away  with  a  vision  of  beauty 
in  his  mind  that  cannot  well  be  forgotten.  Where 
Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  stand  among  the  artists, 
there  rank  Venice  and  Edinburgh  and  Stockholm  and 
Constantinople  among  the  beautiful  cities  of  the  world. 
To  appreciate  them  all,  you  must  see  them  and  com- 

3 


34  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

pare  them,  and,  doubting,  hesitate  to  which  to  give  the 
palm.  If  you  have  but  a  short  time  to  stay  in  Stock- 
holm, you  do  best  to  drive  at  once  to  the  Grand  Hotel. 
.There  you  can  have  comfort  or  luxury  as  your  taste 
or  your  purse  may  dictate ;  you  can  give  your  orders 
and  ask  your  questions  in  English,  and  be  understood ; 
you  can  have  much  that  is  most  interesting  and 
attractive  in  Stockholm  within  a  few  moments'  walk, 
and  from  the  front  windows  of  the  hotel  you  have 
spread  out  before  you  one  of  the  most  beautiful  pano- 
ramas to  be  seen  in  Christendom.  The  charges  at  the 
Grand  Hotel  are  not  high  for  the  accommodations 
offered,  but  for  a  long  stay  there  are  hotels  that  are 
most  comfortable  where  the  expenses  may  be  some- 
what less. 

A  lady  can  stay  at  the  Grand  Hotel  alone,  or  with  a 
female  companion,  and  traverse  Stockholm  by  daylight, 
or  twilight,  or  electric  light,  without  danger  or  difficulty. 
One  American  lady,  however,  had  her  own  little  contre- 
temps. Soon  after  her  arrival  in  Stockholm,  while 
walking  out  one  March  morning,  she  heard  a  rough 
man's  voice  shouting  close  to  her  ear.  In  another  mo- 
ment two  strong  hands  were  laid  on  her  shoulder,  and 
she  was  rushed  across  the  street,  through  the  snow,  at  a 
most  alarming  rate.  She  had  hardly  reached  the  oppo- 
site sidewalk  when  there  was  a  heavy  thud,  as  of  a 
sudden  fall.  Where  she  had  just  been  walking  lay  a 
huge  heap  of  ice  and  snow,  forced  down  by  the  bold  men 
who  were  now  standing  on  the  eaves  of  one  of  the  high 
houses.  Two  watchmen  had,  as  usual,  been  placed  on 
the  pavement,  at  each  end  of  the  building,  to  warn 
passers-by  of  the  danger.  Finding  that  the  strange 
lady  took  no  notice  of  his  vociferous  shouts,  the  kindly 
Swede  had  hurried  her  out  of  the  way  as  best  he  could. 


STOCKHOLM.  35 

Ladies  walk  out  alone  in  Stockholm  on  summer  even- 
ings, because  the  days  are  so  long,  and  in  winter 
evenings,  because  the  days  are  so  short.  When  the 
winter's  night,  in  cloudy  weather,  begins  shortly  after 
three  o'clock,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  city  ladies 
lacking  an  escort  are  to  be  housed  at  that  early  hour, 
when  the  shops  are  all  aglow  within,  the  street  lamps 
are  making  their  own  day  without,  and  the  policemen 
are  everywhere  to  see  that  order  is  maintained. 

And  what  do  those  enticing  shops  contain  ?  Almost 
anything  and  everything  that  you  would  find  in  any 
large  city  in  Europe  or  America.  Woollen  goods  are 
cheap  in  Stockholm,  and  silks  less  expensive  than  in 
the  United  States.  Furs,  of  course,  one  can  buy  to 
advantage.  At  Handarbetets  Vanner  you  can  purchase 
Swedish  lace  and  Swedish  embroidery  in  old  Northern 
patterns  (either  begun  or  completed),  curious  specimens 
of  intricate  weaving  from  the  different  provinces,  and 
even  full  suits  of  peasant  costumes,  —  especially  the 
charming  Dalecarlian  dress. 

If  you  are  to  make  any  lengthened  stay  in  Sweden, 
of  course  you  will  begin  at  once  to  study  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country.  At  Fredrika  Bremer-Forbundet 
(Drottninggatan)  you  will  probably  be  able  to  get  a 
lady  who  speaks  English,  who  will  be  willing  to  teach 
you  Swedish  on  moderate  terms.  If  you  wish  to  learn 
to  read  Swedish,  you  must  begin  at  once  to  guess  out 
what  you  can  in  the  newspapers.  On  "  Aftonbladet's," 
first  page,  upper  left  hand  corner,  you  will  probably  see 
"  Fb'rlof vade  "  as  the  first  heading.  Here  you  have  come 
upon  the  betrothals,  and  can  rejoice  with  the  young 
people.  Next  come  the  weddings.  You  will  readily 
understand  that  the  heavy  black  lines,  farther  down, 
enclose  the  announcements  of  death.  These  are  often 


36  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

signed  by  the  names  of  the  nearest  relatives,  with  an 
expression  of  sorrow  at  the  bereavement,  or  perhaps  a 
consoling  text,  indicated  by  chapter  and  verse.  You 
may  not  soon  discover  that  the  usual  "  died  peacefully  " 
is  necessary  to  indicate  that  the  departed  did  not  have 
a  violent  death,  by  suicide  or  otherwise.  Below  these 
black-lined  announcements  there  is  often  a  packed  list 
of  the  names  of  the  humbler  departed,  while  in  the  main 
body  of  the  paper  there  will  be  a  paragraph  devoted  to 
the  decease  of  any  person  of  prominence. 

You  will  soon  learn  where  the  trips  of  the  innumer- 
able small  steamers  are  announced,  and  plan  your  ex- 
cursions accordingly ;  for  of  course  you  will  never  spend 
a  summer  evening  in  Stockholm.  Take  a  boat  and  go 
somewhere,  no  matter  where.  There  will  be  plenty  of 
Stockholm  people  going  to  the  same  place,  and  you  can 
come  home  when  they  do,  before  the  daylight  has  faded 
away.  You  are  sure  of  a  charming  sail,  and  of  seeing 
something  beautiful  wherever  you  go.  Your  guide- 
book will  tell  you  of  the  various  royal  palaces  around 
Stockholm,  and  they  are  all  worth  seeing,  if  your  taste 
lies  in  that  direction.  If  you  are  not  inclined  for  a 
longer  trip,  you  have  always  Djurgarden  (the  royal  park) 
close  at  hand,  with  its  many  rural  attractions,  and  the 
wonders  of  "  Skansen  "  (see  guide-book)  to  amuse  you. 

The  hills  on  the  islands  of  the  capital  have  necessi- 
tated some  unusual  means  of  communication.  The 
tunnel  for  foot  passengers  through  a  ridge  that  runs 
across  the  northern  part  of  the  city  was  a  difficult  piece 
of  engineering.  The  elevation  was  of  loose  gravel,  and 
thickly  built  over  by  large  and  ponderous  structures. 
It  was  a  success,  however,  and  is  much  employed  by 
the  circulating  public,  ladies,  and  laborers,  and  learned 
professors,  and  schoolboys,  when  in  a  desperate  hurry. 


STOCKHOLM. 


37 


The  elevators  that  lift  "  a  carriage  load  "  of  passengers 
at  once  to  the  heights  of  "  the  South "  do  not  perhaps 
add  to  the  beauty  of  the  city,  but  they  add  greatly 
to  the  comfort  of  the  inhabitants.  The  trip  upwards 
or  downwards  is  short,  and  from  the  long  landing 
"  bridge "  above  there  is  a  most  charming  view  over 
all  Stockholm. 


SKANSEX. 

Do  you  want  to  go  to  the  palace  par  excellence,  the 
home  of  the  royal  family  when  in  Stockholm  ?  To  be 
formally  "  presented "  at  court  involves  formalities 
before  and  after  the  occurrence. 

Few  Americans  are  presented  unless  they  have  some 
position  in  the  army  or  navy,  or  fill  some  high  office 
under  government,  or  in  some  manner  especially  repre- 
sent their  country.  The  whole  affair  of  the  ceremony 
itself  may  not  involve  more  than  a  half-hour's  absence 
from  the  Grand  Hotel.  The  King  and  Queen  will  say 


38  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

a  few  words  to  each  person  presented,  adapting  their 
remarks,  as  far  as  memory  will  permit,  to  the  previous 
intelligence  they  have  gained  as  to  the  tastes  and  ante- 
cedents of  the  person  addressed.  Such  a  presentation 
makes  a  stranger  eligible  to  receive  invitations  to 
entertainments  given  at  the  palace,  or  by  members  of 
the  court  circle. 

A  gentleman,  a  Swede  or  a  foreigner,  who  is  of  any 
real  distinction,  may  be  invited  at  any  time  to  one  of 
the  King's  balls  or  dinners  ;  but  his  wife  secures  no 
invitation  unless  she  has  been  presented,  or  an  extra- 
ordinary exception  is  made  in  some  particular  case. 

The  King's  balls  are  more  properly  receptions,  where 
dancing  is  a  part  of  the  entertainment.  The  ladies  who 
expect  to  dance,  wear  white ;  for  the  others,  the  dress 
must  be  black.  It  looks  oddly  .to  an  American  to  see 
on  the  engraved  card  that  "His  Majesty  Oscar  II. 
invites"  this  or  that  bishop,  or  it  may  be  the  arch- 
bishop, or  this  or  that  divine  of  more  modest  preten- 
sions, to  his  ball ;  and  the  said  American  is  still  more 
astonished  to  see  these  clerical  gentlemen  appear,  in 
due  time,  at  the  entertainment,  with  white  necktie,  and 
as  many  orders  as  they  may  have  the  privilege  of  wear- 
ing. These  so-called  balls,  more  properly  receptions, 
often  afford  an  opportunity  for  a  pleasant,  natural  talk 
with  the  King,  who  addresses  his  guests  here  and  there 
as  suits  his  fancy,  or  their  supposed  claims  for  royal 
attentions.  The  King  has  a  wide-awake  interest  in  all 
matters  concerning  his  own  country  and  the  world  at 
large,  and  never  seems  to  lack  subjects  for  conversation 
with  stranger  or  Swede. 

The  palace  is  open  to  all  visitors  at  times  specially 
mentioned  hi  the  public  prints,  and  there  is  always 
a  courteous  attendant  in  readiness  to  conduct  visit- 
tors  over  the  premises. 


STOCKHOLM.  39 

The  royal  residence  in  Stockholm  gives  one  more  the 
impression  of  a  home  than  could  be  reasonably  ex- 
pected. What  remains  after  visiting  it  is  not  so  much 
a  vision  of  meaningless  splendor  and  sumptuous  up- 
holstering, but  rather  the  memory  of  single  rooms  that 
have  been  specially  interesting.  One  thinks  of  the 
White  Sea,  a  most  spacious  and  attractive  apartment, 
all  white  and  gold  and  mirrors,  or  the  porcelain  room, 
where  wall  and  furniture  and  decorations  are  all  tri- 
umphs of  the  ceramic  art.  Here  in  the  porcelain 
room  was  the  spot  in  the  palace  chosen  some  years 
ago  for  a  dangerous  surgical  operation  performed  on 
the  Queen.  The  character  of  the  room  afforded  pecu- 
liar advantages  for  antiseptic  precautions.  The  sur- 
geons were  most  skilful,  and  Providence  was  kind,  and 
the  patient  survived,  to  the  joy  of  her  family  and  her 
anxious  subjects. 

One  does  not  soon  forget,  after  a  visit  to  the  palace, 
the  portraits  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  both 
living  and  dead;  or  the  personal  belongings  of  the 
present  King  and  Queen,  which  seem  to  draw  one 
near  to  them,  though  they  are  crowned  and  entitled 
to  sit  on  a  throne.  You  may  happen  to  have  no- 
ticed, among  the  elegant  arrangements  of  the  King's 
writing-desk,  a  volume  of  the  "  Poor  Laws  of  Sweden," 
apparently  laid  down  by  the  reader  as  he  left  the  spot 
unexpectedly ;  or  a  picture  of  a  sumptuously  dressed 
little  child  who  has  taken  off  shoe  and  stocking,  that 
seems  a  treasure  for  the  Queen,  who  is  mother  and 
grandmother  too. 

Perhaps  your  grave  guide  has  paused  before  a  door, 
then  opened  it  cautiously,  to  show,  in  a  dark  closet,  a 
great  silver  chair,  shut  up  like  a  naughty  boy  in  pun- 
ishment. It  is  the  throne  itself,  a  present  from  the 


40  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

magnificent  Magnus  Gabriel  de  la  Gardie,  to  Queen 
Christina,  in  her  days  of  royal  pride. 

One  part  of  the  palace  was  formerly  open,  not  to 
curious  travellers,  but  to  guests,  who  were  welcomed 
with  almost  republican  simplicity,  but  with  the  grace 
and  refined  courtesy  that  well  became  a  king's  daugh- 
ter. This  was  long  the  home  of  Princess  Eugenie,  the 
invalid  sister  of  the  present  and  the  late  King,  who 
early  lost  her  interest  in  the  pomp  of  courts,  the  luxu- 
rious externals,  and  the  cold  formalities  of  royal  life. 
Princess  Eugenie  was  beloved  by  a  large  circle  of 
Christian  friends,  with  whom  she  delighted  to  have 
free,  warm-hearted,  natural  intercourse.  With  them 
she  joined  heart  and  hand  in  all  benevolent  enter- 
prises. It  was  delightful  to  be  present  at  her  little 
social  gatherings,  where  the  needle  was  plied  for  the 
Lapps,  for  African  missions,  for  the  home  or  the  church 
for  Swedish  seamen  in  England,  or  for  the  institution 
at  Upsala  for  aspirants  for  the  ministry  of  the  State 
Church. 

The  Princess  herself  sewed,  painted,  carved,  or  mod- 
elled in  clay,  pretty  and  useful  things  to  be  sold  at 
bazaars,  or  through  private  hands,  for  some  cause  that 
she  loved.  It  was  not  enough  for  her  to  give, —  which 
she  did  freely  and  abundantly :  she  liked,  too,  to  add  her 
labor  where  she  gave  her  loving  interest.  There  was 
a  grace  and  charm  about  Princess  Eugenie  that  made 
one  remember  that  the  Empress  Josephine  was  her 
great  grandmother,  and  that  she  was  largely  French  in 
blood.  At  the  same  time  the  sanctified  Christian 
beamed  in  her  face,  and  gave  her  a  saintly  attraction 
that  a  court  cannot  foster,  and  had  not,  in  her  case, 
destroyed.  This  lovely  Princess,  who  died  in  1889,  is 
still  mourned  and  most  affectionately  remembered,  not 
only  by  her  royal  relatives  and  her  intimate  friends, 


STOCKHOLM.  41 

but  by  the  whole  Swedish  people.  Her  wing  in  the 
palace  retains  always  within  it  the  floating  picture  of 
her  tall,  slight  figure,  bent  forward  as  she  came  to  re- 
ceive a  guest,  her  dark  eyes  beaming  with  gentle  cour- 
tesy and  kindly  recognition. 

Princess  Eugenie's  home  for  invalid  and  deformed 
children  is  considered  a  model  institution  of  its  kind, 
and  is  one  of  the  interesting  sights  of  Stockholm. 

Under  the  palace,  and  entered  by  a  humble  doorway 
in  its  main  front,  is  the  museum  where  many  historical 
relics  are  preserved  that  have  an  attraction  for  stran- 
gers as  well  as  for  Swedes.  You  may  sit  there  in  the 
state  carriage  of  "Charles  XII.,"  or  see  the  "stuffed 
horse"  that  bore  "Gustavus  Adolphus"  on  the  fatal 
day  at  Liitzen.  You  can  examine  the  Swedish 
weapons  of  war  through  all  their  changes,  and  know 
the  fashion  for  the  queens'  royal  dresses  right  down 
the  line,  and  the  height  and  proportions  of  their  ma- 
jesties, too,  as  the  velvets  and  satins  are  disposed  over 
frameworks  for  your  special  edification.  These  are 
objects  of  curiosity ;  but  if  you  really  want  to  study 
the  past  of  Sweden,  you  must  go  to  the  National  Mu- 
seum, the  Eoyal  Library,  and  the  State  Archives. 

At  the  Royal  Library,  in  Linne-Park  (Humlegarden), 
you  can  see  a  charming  collection  of  autographs  and 
old  manuscripts  and  relics  of  the  past,  that,  displayed 
in  glass  cases,  tell  their  own  story,  even  if  you  have  no 
enthusiastic  Swede  to  explain  for  you  what  you  are  see- 
ing. You  may  linger  in  the  library  to  study  and  write, 
and  be  as  quiet  and  as  unmolested  as  if  you  were  in 
your  own  favorite  nook  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean. 

At  the  Royal  Archives  you  are  on  what  the  Swedes 
consider  almost  holy  ground.  You  are  touching  the 
far  past,  and  in  intercourse,  too,  with  living  men,  who 
are  devoting  their  lives  to  studying  out  and  preserving 


42  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

and  classifying  the  records  of  the  wise,  and  the  brave, 
and  the  good. 

From  such  scholars  and  such  materials  for  study,  it 
is  a  step  down  to  the  schoolroom ;  but  some  of  the 
schools  of  Stockholm  you  must  see  if  possible.  There 
may  be  no  schools  in  session  in  summer,  as  several 
months  of  vacation  are  generally  allowed;  but  gym- 
nastic classes  you  can  certainly  find.  It  is  encouraging 
to  see  the  rigorous  exercises  to  which  the  young  girls 
preparing  to  be  teachers  are  subjected  at  "  the  semi- 
nary," and  how  their  pretty  dress  brings  them  all  into  a 
uniformity  that  melts  the  class  in  motion  into  a  single 
whole. 

Your  true  Swede  honestly  believes  that  a  proper 
course  of  gymnastics  will  cure  almost  everything  but 
a  fever  or  some  difficulty  that  requires  a  surgical 
operation.  The  medical  gymnastics,  where  one  is 
pommelled  and  punched  in  just  the  right  place  and 
with  just  the  right  force,  are  said  to  effect  wonderful 
cures,  are  worth  seeing,  if  only  out  of  curiosity. 

Perhaps  you  have  not  heard  of  the  University  of 
Stockholm.  It  is  a  child  in  comparison  with  Upsala 
and  Lund,  but  like  a  vigorous,  gifted,  promising  child. 
It  has  many  deservedly  renowned  names  among  its 
professors,  and  probably  a  bright  future  before  it.  As 
yet  it  is  not  even  in  its  own  building.  It  is  not  now 
surrounded  by  classic  shades,  but  in  the  midst  of  the 
stir  of  the  great  thoroughfares  of  the  capital.  Five 
rooms  and  halls  are  devoted  to  its  purposes.  One  is 
astonished  to  see  on  the  same  building  where  the 
lectures  may  be  heard  from  distinguished  professors, 
but  round  the  corner,  announcements  of  "  billiards " 
and  a  "theatre"  within!  —  an  accident  probably,  but 
something  that  cannot  fail  to  strike  a  stranger. 
That  will  all  be  changed,  of  course,  when  the  uni- 


A    VERY    OLD    STREET    IN    STOCKHOLM. 


STOCKHOLM.  43 

versity  has  its  own  home.  It  is  easy  for  an  outsider 
to  get  a  ticket  to  the  admirable  courses  of  lectures  at 
the  University  of  Stockholm,  and  a  great  pleasure  it 
is  to  be  allowed  to  profit  by  such  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  some  of  the  prominent  scholars  of  Sweden. 

On  Sunday  morning  there  is  always  a  service  at  the 
English  church  in  Stockholm  at  11  A.  M.,  while  at 
8  A.  M.  there  is,  during  the  summer,  an  administration 
of  the  Holy  Communion. 

Perhaps  a  Swedish  friend  may  ask  you  on  Sunday 
morning  if  you  will  go  to  "  Hedvig  Eleonora  "  Church, 
or  "  Adolf  Fredrik,"  or  "  Klara,"  or  "  the  Big  Church." 
You  may  prefer  the  Royal  Chapel,  where  you  will 
usually  find  a  crowd  ;  but  if  you  go  early,  you  will 
be  sure  of  a  seat  on  one  of  the  benches  placed 
at  right  angles  to  the  main  aisle,  and  there  you 
can  always  hear  sermon  and  service.  If  you  are 
not  early,  you  may  have  to  stand  in  a  packed  aisle 
while  a  little  old  woman,  with  a  bunch  of  keys  in  her 
hand,  now  and  then  pushes  her  way  through  the 
crowd,  and  unlocks  the  door  of  one  of  the  almost 
empty  pews,  and  cautiously  slips  in  the  favored 
owner  of  a  seat  there,  or  her  particular  friend,  and 
then  click !  goes  the  lock  again.  The  rightful  sitter 
is  shut  in,  and  you  are  shut  out.  After  a  certain  time 
these  pews  are  thrown  open,  and  as  many  worshippers 
as  can,  occupy  them.  The  aisle  is,  however,  generally 
full  of  people  standing  until  the  service  is  fairly 
over. 

On  Sundays,  as  on  other  days,  there  is  always 
much  to  see  in  Stockholm,  —  too  much,  our  American 
stranger  cannot  help  feeling.  The  real  sight  on  all 
days  is  Stockholm  itself,  open  to  all  who  have  willing 
eyes. 

When  the    chill    dark  autumn  evenings  begin,  the 


44  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

view  of  "  the  South,  where  steep,  rising  on  steep,"  the 
lines  of  houses  tower  one  above  another,  is  truly 
enchanting.  From  every  fireside  and  every  lamp 
comes  a  cheerful  shining,  a  glimmering  and  a  glitter- 
ing, as  if  there  were  an  illumination  for  some  great 
holiday,  instead  of  the  cheering  announcement  that 
now  families  were  gathered  in  quiet  comfort  in  the 
cosey  homes  of  thousands  of  worthy  citizens.  As  the 
houses  of  Stockholm  have  rarely  outside  shutters 
(excepting  on  the  lower  floors,  usually  occupied  by 
shops),  this  sense  of  being  in  the  midst  of  homes  takes 
from  the  feeling  of  loneliness  and  danger  in  being  in 
the  streets  unprotected  late  in  the  evening. 

Stockholm  is  in  some  respects  like  a  great  village  •. 
everybody  knows  about  everybody  else.  The  King 
and  the  royal  family  are  the  staple  subjects  of  gossip. 
Then  the  whole  city  comes  bodily  to  subject  itself  to 
criticism  and  mutual  investigation.  People  who  do 
not  visit  each  other  know  all  about  each  other,  to  the 
minutest  particular,  not  of  indoor  life,  but  of  their 
antecedents,  social  standing,  current  reputation,  relia- 
bility on  'Change,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune  or 
popular  favor  through  which  they  have  passed. 
There  is  everywhere  a  kind  of  wholesale  friendliness 
and  politeness  afloat  that  wells  over  in  greetings  and 
little  courtesies  to  acquaintances,  and  rejoices  at  an 
opportunity  to  help  a  puzzled  stranger,  —  a  sort  of 
genial  atmosphere  of  general  benevolence  that  sur- 
prises one  in  the  life  of  a  country  metropolis. 

Stockholm  is  small  compared  with  the  great  cities 
of  the  world,  but  it  is  the  capital,  and  as  such  the 
centre  of  life  and  intelligence  and  social  intercourse 
for  the  nation.  It  is  like  one  great  beautiful  home, 
where  one  can  best  learn  to  know  the  Swedes,  and  to 


STOCKHOLM. 


45 


love  them.  Here  one  must  see  the  failings  that  spring 
from  their  form  of  government  and  the  structure  of 
their  social  life ;  but  such  failings  one  no  more  lays  to 
the  charge  of  an  individual  than  one  would  the  hue 
of  his  complexion  or  the  color  of  his  hair. 

The  hospitable  Queen  City  of  the  North  is  becoming 
more  and  more  the  resort  of  the  English-speaking 
peoples,  and  in  many  ways  Svea  and  Columbia  and 
Britannia  are  feeling  the  warm  throb  of  relationship, 
and  are  giving  each  other  the  strong  clasp  of  the  hand 
that  befits  the  ties  of  blood. 


THE     TUNNEL. 


46  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 


SEEING   THE   KING. 

THE  average  American,  when  he  first  sets  foot  on 
European  soil,  is  eager  to  see  royalty  and  ruins,  —  two 
things  which  he  has  not  at  home,  and  does  not  care 
to  have  introduced  there.  Koyalty  in  England  is  at 
best  but  widowed  royalty,  weary  of  pomp  and  state. 
In  Italy,  old  Rome,  the  old  emperors,  and  the  old 
masters  throw  new  royalty  quite  into  the  background. 
In  Sweden,  however,  they  who  wish  to  see  a  king  can 
see  him  in  the  midst  of  a  loyal  people,  with  his  old 
prestige  undiminished.  Nor  is  it  a  difficult  thing  to 
get  a  sight  of  Oscar  II.  The  position  of  the  palace, 
in  the  midst  of  the  stir  of  the  capital,  makes  it  impos- 
sible for  his  Majesty  to  step  beyond  the  threshold  of 
his  beautiful  home  without  being  at  once  the  observed 
of  all  observers. 

Any  day  after  your  arrival  in  Stockholm  you  may 
be  passing  over  Norrbro  (North-bridge).  Your  com- 
panion may  whisper  suddenly  to  you,  "There  comes 
the  King ! "  You  see  a  tall,  handsome,  elderly  gentleman 
approaching.  You  cannot  stare  at  him,  barefacedly. 
You  do  not  care,  certainly,  to  be  more  rude  towards  a 
King  than  to  any  other  stranger,  and  so  you  give  him 
a  passing  glance,  and  almost  lose  your  opportunity  of 
seeing  royalty  at  home.  But  other  such  opportunities 
crowd  upon  you.  You  may  chance  to  see  his  Majesty 
riding  in  the  royal  park  of  Stockholm  (Djurgarderi), 
at  a  concert,  at  the  theatre  (if  you  are  a  theatre-goer), 


SEEING  THE   KING.  47 

or  at  the  Eoyal  Chapel  in  his  box-like  little  room, 
looking  down  on  church  and  chancel,  and  able  by  an 
attentive  ear  to  hear  prayer  and  preaching.  You  may 
even  meet  the  King  in  a  shop,  buying  something  pecu- 
liarly beautiful  or  magnificent  for  a  birthday  gift  at 
the  palace,  or  looking  at  some  unusual  importation 
from  foreign  parts.  Such  casual  views  of  royalty  with- 
out state  will  not  long  satisfy  you.  Having  seen  the 
man,  you  want  to  see  the  monarch. 

Every  swift  steamer  that  crosses  the  Atlantic  carries 
with  it  many  exquisite  small  profile  portraits  of  the 
King  of  Sweden.  Little  children  in  America  know  his 
face,  engraved  in  all  colors,  as  it  adorns  their  collection 
of  postage  stamps.  Neither  they  nor  their  elders  can 
quite  imagine  him  as  he  appears  at  "  the  Opening  of 
the  Riksdag." 

The  formal  opening  of  the  Riksdag,  or  Parliament  of 
Sweden,  is  in  the  palace,  in  the  Hall  of  the  Kingdom, 
not  at  the  place  of  meeting  of  this  important  body  in 
its  own  special  building.  The  honorable  members  come 
to  the  King  to  be  declared  in  session,  and  lawfully 
assembled,  and  to  hear  his  fatherly  counsel  on  the 
occasion. 

The  hall  is  then  lavishly  decorated  with  the  blue  and 
yellow  flag  of  Sweden,  and  with  cloth  the  color  of  the 
evening  sky,  — •  not  sown,  though,  with  stars,  but  with 
golden  crowns,  grouped  in  threes,  like  Lyra  indefinitely 
multiplied  and  grown  royal. 

In  the  centre  of  the  dais  a  large  silver  chair,  the 
throne,  stands  cold  and  empty,  under  a  high,  rectangu- 
lar, crown-spangled  canopy.  There  is  a  stir  about  the 
dais  and  the  doors  that  lead  from  the  hall  to  the  rest 
of  the  palace.  Uniforms  are  everywhere,  and  swords 
are  as  much  the  order  of  the  day  as  if  the  Russians 


48 


PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LLFE. 


were  at  baud.  Officials  cross  the  floor  as  if  intent  on 
something  particular,  and  bow  to  the  empty  throne  as 
they  pass. 

There  is  a  sound  at  the  outer  door.  The  "  members  " 
are  coming  in,  fresh  from  a  service  and  a  sermon  at 
the  old  church  just  at  hand.  They  take  their  seats 


OSCAR  ir. 


ill  their  appointed  places.  They  rise!  The  princes 
are  coming  in  due  order  of  age,  the  youngest  first. 
All  have  their  crowns  on,  like  princes  in  a  story-book. 
Their  blue,  ermine-lined  mantles  would  sweep  the 
ground,  were  they  not  borne  up  by  official  hands,  to 
keep  them  from  such  contact. 

The  King  enters  last,  magnificent  in  his  gold-embroi- 
dered red  cloak,  his  ermine  cape,  and  the  insignia  of 
the  princely  order  of  the  Seraphim.  His  mantle,  that 


SEEING  THE  KING.  49 

has  been  so  carefully  borne  up,  is  thrown  over  the  back 
of  the  silver  chair,  and  those  of  the  princes  are  also 
disposed  behind  them. 

His  Majesty  speaks  sitting,  reading  from  a  paper  in 
his  hand.  In  his  rich,  strong  voice,  he  begins  in  the  old 
way :  "  Good  gentlemen,  and  Swedish  men."  You  forget 
to  use  your  eyes,  and  strain  your  ears  to  listen  and 
understand.  The  King  touches  skilfully  matters  in 
relation  to  the  kingdom,  and  the  changes  to  be  desired. 

The  Prime  Minister  reads  extracts  here  and  there 
from  his  own  statement  of  the  condition  of  Svea 
and  her  children.  The  Speaker  of  the  First  Chamber 
responds  to  the  King  for  his  body,  and  then  the 
Speaker  (\ve  must  not  say  of  the  Lower  House,  for  they 
claim  to  be  equal)  of  the  Second  Chamber  makes  his 
response.  For  these  two  speeches  the  Eiksdag  is  not 
answerable,  and  they  are  only  entered  into  its  published 
report  by  the  formally  expressed  yearly  consent  of  the 
body. 

The  Cabinet  and  chief  dignitaries  of  the  kingdom 
leave  the  hall  before  the  royal  family.  The  princes 
then  retire  in  due  order,  and  the  King  makes  his  majes- 
tic exit. 

The  whole  scene  is  unique,  as  a  royal,  almost  theat- 
rical, performance,  which  carries  one  far  back  into  the 
past  of  the  nations. 

The  King  is  a  friend  of  education.  A  large  and 
admirable  schoolhouse  was  to  be  opened  in  Stockholm, 
and  the  King  must  be  the  hero  of  the  day.  He  arrived 
on  horseback,  properly  escorted,  dismounted,  and  was  at 
once  conducted  to  the  room  where  the  refreshment 
table  was  spread  for  the  royal  guest.  With  little  cere- 
mony, the  teachers  of  the  institution  were  presented 
to  his  Majesty,  who  tried  to  say  something  friendly  and 


50  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

courteous  to  all.  The  evening  soon  came  on ;  then  there 
was  music  from  a  band,  and  a  poem  for  the  occasion 
read  from  a  balcony  above  to  the  crowd  below.  In  the 
open  air,  standing  on  the  steps  of  the  building,  the  King 
made  a  speech  touching  on  the  educational  needs  of 
his  people.  He  spoke  standing,  and  without  notes. 
His  words  flowed  freely,  his  voice  was  clear  and  pure, 
and  one  felt  that  there  was  a  natural  orator  in  the 
hereditary  King. 

A  new  market-house  was  to  be  festively  "  opened," 
and  the  King,  of  course,  must  be  there.  The  admi- 
rable cellars  below  were  light  with  gas  illumination, 
while  the  clear  sunlight  streamed  into  the  building 
above  from  the  spacious  glass  roof.  The  "  stands  "  all 
round  the  establishment  were  gay  with  flowers  and 
bright  with  happy  faces.  Moving  among  the  crowd, 
and  dressed  like  any  other  gentleman,  the  King  ap- 
peared, and  was  soon  eating  bread  and  cheese  among 
(may  we  say)  his  fellow-citizens  ?  There  was  an  eager- 
ness for  a  fair  view  of  the  little  scene,  that  made  a 
closely  packed  wall  of  lookers-on  round  the  small,  open 
space  that  was  left  clear  about  the  King  and  the  princes, 
who  were  taking  their  frugal  repast  at  a  "  stand."  The 
royal  party  soon  moved  on,  unceremoniously,  to  exam- 
ine the  building,  and  the  market-house  had  been 
properly  opened. 

The  Oriental  Congress  in  session  at  Stockholm  was 
holding  its  last  sitting  in  a  fine  old  building,  the  House 
of  the  Knights  (Riddarhnset).  In  this  hall  of  assem- 
bly the  walls  are  thickly  covered  with  the  crests  and 
escutcheons  of  the  noble  families  of  Sweden. 

The  King  sat  on  the  platform,  at  the  desk  of  the 
presiding  officer.  He  wore  across  his  breast  the  broad 
light  blue  ribbon  of  the  Seraphim  order,  and  never 


SEEING  THE   KING.  51 

looked  better,  —  as  if  the  intellectual  character  of  the 
occasion  had  given  him  even  more  than  his  usual  per- 
sonal dignity  and  charm.  He  spoke  twice,  once  in  Latin 
and  once  in  French,  and  with  such  a  clear  enunciation 
that  he  was  easily  understood.  Max  Miiller  replied  to 
the  Latin  address,  and  was  not  as  intelligible  to  the  lis- 
teners, —  possibly  because  he  turned  his  face  from  the 
audience  to  look  towards  the  King. 

The  members  of  the  Congress  were  seated  on  chairs, 
at  right  angles  with  the  benches  for  the  listeners,  and 
on  each  side  of  the  platform.  Persians  and  Hindoos, 
white-turbaned  Arabs,  scholars  in  their  national  dress 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  were  meeting  like  brothers 
in  the  far  North.  A  poem  was  read  in  Sanscrit  by  a 
veritable  Brahmin  of  the  highest  caste,  —  a  charming 
gentleman,  as  much  at  home  in  English  literature  and 
the  niceties  of  the  English  language  as  perhaps  any  of 
Victoria's  subjects.  The  poem,  of  which  the  hearers 
were  furnished  with  a  Swedish  translation,  was  read 
in  a  kind  of  musical  recitative,  peculiar,  but  pleasing. 

When  the  formal  meeting  was  over,  the  King  went 
among  the  delegates,  shaking  hands  with  them  like 
a  hospitable,  friendly  host,  lingering  here  and  there  for 
a  few,  and  still  a  few  words  more.  To  all  he  expressed 
the  pleasure  he  had  had  in  the  meeting  of  the  Con- 
gress, and  the  hope  that  he  cherished  of  seeing  its 
members  again  in  his  capital. 

The  King  left  the  room  first.  As  he  passed  down 
the  aisle,  a  distinguished  foreign  traveller  was  stand- 
ing with  his  handsome  wife  at  his  side.  The  King 
stopped,  as  would  any  other  gentleman,  to  speak  a  few 
moments  with  the  strangers,  and  then  passed  out.  He 
had  made  his  best  appearance.  It  was  not  followed  by 
deafening  cheers,  but  there  was  a  general  murmur  of 
cordial  approval  of  the  Swedish  monarch. 


52 


PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 


Oscar  II.  is  himself  an  author,  and  handles  the  pen 
well  alike  in  prose  and  verse.  He  is  a  good  linguist 
in  many  languages,  and  a  man  of  much  general 
information.  He  had  doubtless  himself  enjoyed 
heartily  meeting  so  many  men  of  rare  gifts  and  high 
culture. 


THE  KING'S  STUDY. 

A  few  months  ago  the  King  and  the  princes  ap- 
peared in  the  large  hall  of  the  Academy  of  Music  in 
Stockholm,  where  "  The  Tower  of  Bahel "  was  to  be 
presented  for  the  first  time  in  the  capital.  The  King  is 
a  lover  of  music.  The  whole  was  new  to  him,  and  he 
studied  his  libretto  like  a  good  school-boy,  now  and 
then  exchanging  a  word  or  a  sympathetic  glance  with 
the  princes,  who  were  near  him.  The  whole  was  an 
extraordinary  success.  Perhaps,  however,  the  King  may 


SEEING  THE   KING.  53 

have  made,  in  a  modified  way,  the  same  criticism  that 
came  from  a  young  damsel  who  had  enjoyed  the  un- 
common privilege  of  being  present  at  a  city  musical 
entertainment.  The  immense  choir  of  lady  singers 
wore  dresses  of  all  shades  and  colors,  fashionably  made, 
and  presenting  an  incongruous  appearance  as  they 
sang  together  for  the  races,  Semitic,  etc.  "  This  took 
from  the  effect,"  the  young  lady  correctly  remarked, 
then  naively  adding,  "  It  would  have  been  much 
better  if  they  had  been  dressed  in  the  costume  of 
the  period ! " 

Later,  the  newspapers  reported  the  King  as  present 
at  a  circus,  where  the  performance  was  by  amateurs, 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  his  own  court,  before  a  select 
and  selected  assembly.  The  King  entered  the  royal 
box  leading  a  little  grandson  on  each  side  of  him, 
that  "  the  boys  "  might  have  their  share  of  the  fun. 
Thus  we  have  seen  the  King  of  Sweden,  from  the 
monarch  royally  arrayed,  to  the  grandfather  at  the 
circus.  Having  passed  from  grave  to  gay,  we  pause, 
and  the  curtain  drops. 

But  who  and  what  is  this  King  of  Sweden  whom 
we  have  been  seeing  ?  He  is  the  King  of  the  Swedish 
people,  but  has  no  Swedish  blood  in  his  veins.  He 
is  the  direct  descendant  of  that  young  French  soldier 
Bernadotte,  who  could  not,  before  the  Revolution, 
come  to  high  promotion  in  the  army  of  his  country, 
because  he  was  of  too  humble  birth  for  such  an  honor. 
He  is  the  crowned  great  grandson  of  the  Empress 
Josephine,  the  wife  set  aside  by  the  ambitious 
Napoleon  I.,  who  would  found  a  dynasty. 

What  is  this  King  of  Sweden  ?  He  is  the  heredi- 
tary, constitutional  monarch  over  five  millions  of 
Swedes,  and  all  Norway  besides.  His  dominion, 


54  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

the  Scandinavian  peninsula,  is  larger  than  any  single 
country  of  Europe,  —  Russia  excepted,  which  is  eleven 
times  the  size  of  Norway  and  Sweden  united.  The 
territorial  extent  of  Sweden  alone  exceeds  the  whole 
area  of  the  nine  little  kingdoms,  —  Denmark,  Holland, 
Belgium,  Portugal,  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  Saxony, 
Greece,  and  Servia,  reckoned  together ;  hut  these  have 
their  rich  land  and  mild  climate,  while  a  large  part  of 
Sweden  is  in  the  far  North. 

The  country  over  which  Oscar  II.  reigns  is  more 
sparsely  populated,  taken  as  a  whole,  than  any  other  in 
Europe,  with  the  exception  of  Norway  and  Finland. 

In  1883  there  were  in  Sweden  142,000  more  women 
than  men.  This  difference  with  regard  to  the  sexes  is 
slight  among  the  young,  but  increases  with  age,  as 
women  in  the  North  are  more  long-lived  than  men.  The 
population  of  Sweden  is  almost  all  purely  Swedish, 
though  there  are  17,000  Finns  and  about  6,500  Lapps. 
There  were  besides,  at  the  last  census,  18,587  residents 
born  out  of  Sweden,  chiefly  in  Denmark,  Norway, 
Finland,  and  Germany. 

In  spite  of  the  nature  of  the  land  and  the  climate, 
agriculture  is  the  chief  occupation  of  the  people  of 
Sweden.  The  other  prominent  sources  of  income  are 
the  raising  of  domestic  animals,  the  products  of  the 
forests  and  mines,  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar,  of 
cotton  goods  (from  imported  cotton),  tobacco,  woollen 
goods,  beer,  and  matches. 

The  constitution  of  Sweden  consists  of  certain 
fundamental  laws  concerning  the  form  of  government, 
the  construction  and  power  of  the  Riksdag,  the  law  of 
succession  to  the  throne,  and  for  the  protection  of  the 
freedom  of  the  press. 

As  to  the  King,  he  is  of  age  at  18.     He  must  be  of 


SEEING   THE   KING.  55 

the  Lutheran  faith,  as  expressed  in  the  Augsburg 
Confession  and  by  the  Upsala  Conference  of  1593. 

The  responsibility  for  the  acts  of  the  government 
rests  on  the  ministers. 

The  King's  Majesty  shall  be  honored  and  held 
sacred. 

It  is  not  affirmed  that  the  King  can  do  no  wrong,  but 
there  is  no  tribunal  before  which  he  can  be  lawfully 
arraigned,  and  he  has  no  peers  in  his  own  land  by 
whom  he  can  be  judged. 

On  his  part,  the  King  is  pledged  to  strengthen  and 
forward  truth  and  right  in  his  kingdom.  He  must  not 
himself  destroy,  or  suffer  to  be  destroyed,  any  person's 
life,  honor,  freedom,  or  prosperity,  unless  such  person 
has  been  lawfully  convicted  and  condemned. 

The  King  must  not  disturb,  or  allow  any  man  to  be 
disturbed,  in  his  own  house. 

He  must  not  force,  or  allow  to  be  forced,  any  man's 
conscience.  He  must  protect  every  one  in  the  free 
exercise  of  his  religion,  provided  the  peace  of  society 
be  not  thereby  disturbed,  or  general  offence  given. 

The  King  has  a  right  to  decide  in  government 
matters,  when  the  ministers  have  been  heard.  When 
the  decision  is  made,  at  least  three  ministers  must  be 
present,  and  all  the  members  of  the  Council  when  the 
question  is  important. 

The  King  can  declare  war  and  make  peace,  when  the 
ministry  has  been  heard,  the  Norwegian  members  being 
always,  in  this  case,  consulted. 

The  King  is  commander  in  chief  of  the  forces  by  sea 
and  land,  and  may  issue  his  orders,  consulting  only  the 
Minister  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

The  King  has  two  voices  in  the  Supreme  Court,  which 
issues  its  decisions  in  the  King's  name.  In  criminal 


56  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

cases  the  King  has  the  right  of  pardon,  but  must  first 
have  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  ministry, 
in  each  case. 

The  King  is  the  head  of  the  State  Church  (summus 
episcopus). 

The  King  has  the  right  to  appoint  to  the  highest 
offices  in  the  kingdom,  and  some  of  the  lower  ones.  He 
may  not,  however,  appoint  a  bishop  or  an  archbishop, 
or  a  burgomaster,  without  the  candidate's  having 
been  proposed  for  the  office  from  the  legally  provided 
quarters. 

In  all  appointments,  the  law  requires  that  respect 
must  be  had  only  to  the  services  and  skill  of  the  appli- 
cant, without  consideration  of  his  birth. 

The  King  has  the  right  of  veto  in  opposition  to  the 
Eiksdag,  and  the  Kiksdag  has  the  right  of  veto  in 
opposition  to  the  King. 

The  King  has  no  right  to  tax  the  people,  but  no 
established  tax  can  be  done  away  with  without  his 
consent. 

The  King  shall  appoint  for  the  Council  "  skilful, 
experienced,  upright,  universally  esteemed,  native-born 
Swedes,  of  pure  evangelical  faith." 

It  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  compare  the 
above  stated  powers  and  privileges  of  the  crowned 
King  of  Sweden  with  those  given  in  the  American 
Eepublic  to  their  elected  President. 

The  Swedes  claim  that  their  King  has  less  power 
than  the  President  of  the  United  States,  though  he  is 
not  so  easily  dislodged  from  the  Eoyal  Palace  as  is  the 
President  from  the  White  House. 


THE   QUEEN'S   MONUMENT.  57 


THE   QUEEN'S   MONUMENT. 

A  WOMAN  is  not  often  called  upon  to  lay  the  corner 
stone  of  her  own  monument,  but  this  peculiar  privilege 
the  present  Queen  of  Sweden  has  enjoyed.  Her  name 
stands  upon  it  in  letters  that  all  can  read,  while  she 
is  still  living,  and  loving,  and  being  loved. 

When  her  Majesty  has  passed  to  the  better  land, 
she  will  long  be  gratefully  remembered  in  Sweden, 
through  her  lasting  and  most  appropriate  monument, 
—  her  hospital  and  training-school  for  nurses  for  the 
sick.  Sophia-Home  (Sophia-hemmet)  is  especially  fre- 
quented by  persons  who  are  to  undergo  surgical  oper- 
ations and  need  all  the  modern  appurtenances  and 
arrangements  that  make  such  operations  safe  and 
as  little  painful  as  possible.  Many  patients  are  also 
received  there  who  in  full  homes,  or  as  strangers  in 
hotels,  Bould  not  otherwise  have  sufficient  quiet  or  the 
requisite  skilful  and  devoted  attendance. 

The*Queen  of  Sweden  was  Sophia  of  Nassau  when, 
in  1857,  she  married  the  then  Duke  of  Ostergotland, 
now  the  reigning  King.  The  name  "  Sophia-hemmet  " 
stands  in  large  letters  on  the  front  of  the  institution, 
which  has  been  and  still  is  for  her  an  object  of  the  most 
intense  and  enthusiastic  interest. 

The  hospital  is  situated  on  high  ground,  facing  the 
beautiful  last  street  of  Stockholm  in  that  direction, 
which  is  only  built  up  on  one  side,  the  broad  avenue 


58  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

being  quite  open  between  it  and  the  grounds  about 
Sophia-hemmet  and  the  woods  of  the  neighboring 
park. 

The  invalids  have  greenness  and  fresh  air  and  sweet 
quiet  about  them,  though  within  easy  access  of  the 
efficient  medical  corps  of  Stockholm. 

There  are  two  departments  to  the  hospital,  the  train- 
ing-school for  nurses,  and  the  hospital  proper.  These 
buildings  are  united  by  a  covered  passage  between 
them.  The  members  of  the  training-school  are  called 
"  pupils  "  (el&ves),  while  the  finished  nurses  are  "  sisters." 
The  pupil  nurses  ("  probationers  ")  have  their  work  only 
under  superintendence,  in  the  hospital  alone,  while 
many  of  the  "  sisters "  minister  by  the  sick-beds  of 
sufferers  in  their  own  homes.  These  trained  nurses 
are  generally  persons  of  education  and  refinement,  and 
in  many  cases  of  noble  families ;  yet  they  are  modest 
and  unassuming  in  the  sick-rooms  to  which  they  come, 
and  ready  to  do  all  offices  for  a  patient  that  love  could 
prompt,  or  a  near  relative  undertake  in  a  similar  case 
Their  ministry  is  so  simple,  natural,  and  efficient,  that 
one  forgets  what  it  must  have  cost  them  to  attain  such 
composure  and  skill,  and  such  humility  and  love,  as 
to  make  such  faithful  ministry  to  strangers  possible 
and  even  easy. 

It  is  hard  to  describe  the  restfulness  that  steals  over 
a  weary  household  where  there  is  a  suffering  member, 
or  where  there  are  little  children  exposed  to  or  suffer- 
ing from  contagious  diseases,  when  the  sister  from 
Sophia-hemmet  arrives  in  the  evening,  scrupulously 
neat  in  her  appearance,  warm,  and  friendly  in  manner, 
and  every  way  trustworthy,  to  take  care  of  the  sick  for 
the  night.  Some  of  the  sisters  are  detailed  to  work  in 
other  city  hospitals.  Those  who  are  willing  to  nurse 


THE   QUEEN'S  MONUMENT.  59 

cholera  patients,  in  case  the  epidemic  should  come  to 
Stockholm,  register  their  names. 

There  is  a  resident  physician  in  the  hospital.  The 
patients  may  intrust  themselves  to  his  care,  or  have 
the  attendance  of  any  other  physician  or  surgeon  they 
may  prefer,  with  still  the  privilege  of  summoning  the 
resident  physician  in  case  of  the  appearance  of  any 
suddenly  alarming  or  peculiarly  painful  symptoms. 

The  chaplain  for  Sophia-hemmet,  not  living  in  the 
house,  is  a  prominent  clergyman  in  Stockholm, who  has 
the  peculiar  position  of  being  a  priest  belonging  to  the 
State  organization,  and  a  court  preacher,  while  he  is 
pastor  over  a  church  (built  after  Spurgeon's)  sustained 
by  private  contribution.  This  clergyman  is  a  warm 
and  fluent  speaker.  He  is  said  to  be  peculiarly  accept- 
able in  the  sick-room,  and  to  have  a  special  power  of 
ministering  at  the  couch  of  bitter  suffering  and  by  the 
dying  bed. 

The  Queen  retains  the  right  of  appointing  the  pre- 
siding officer  (a  lady),  the  resident  physician,  and  the 
chaplain  at  Sophia-hemmet.  All  other  matters  with 
reference  to  the  institution  are  decided  by  a  competent 
board  of  directors. 

A  library  is  accumulating  for  the  benefit  of  the 
"  sisters  "  and  "  pupils,"  and  now  and  then  some  friendly 
ladies  give  a  concert,  a  stereopticon  exhibition,  or  a 
familiar  "reading,"  to  throw  a  little  brightness  into 
the  self-sacrificing  lives  of  the  devoted  women  at 
Sophia-hemmet. 

We  give  some  extracts  from  the  printed  papers  which 
the  sister  must  hand  at  once  to  one  of  the  heads  of 
the  household  when  she  enters  a  family  as  a  nurse :  — 


60  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

SOPHIA-HEMMET. 
VALHALLA-VAGEN,  STOCKHOLM. 

Nursing  in  Private  Houses. 

Date 

The  nurse (nurse's   name),   is  sent  to-day  to 

(name  the  head  of  the  family  to  whom  the  nurse 
is  sent). 

Terms,  two  crowns  twenty-five  ore  per  day. 

Kr.  2.25 
Signed, 

Superintendent. 
Crowns. 

Night  nursing  (reckoned  at  about  12  hours),  2.00 

Day  nursing,  1.25 

Presence  and  help  during  an  operation,  3.00 

For  visit  (not  more  than  two  hours),  1.00 

INFORMATION  AND   CONDITIONS. 

The  directors  of  Sophia-hemmet  claim  that  a  nurse 
should  in  all  respects  be  treated  as  an  educated  woman 
in  the  exercise  of  a  noble  calling. 

No  duties  should  be  exacted  from  the  nurse  beyond 
the  care  of  the  patient  and  the  sick-room. 

The  nurse  must  not  be  expected  to  take  her  meals  with 
the  servants. 

The  nurse  must  be  allowed  an  hour  a  day  in  the  fresh 
air. 

The  nurse  must  be  allowed,  in  all,  seven  hours  (in  the 
twenty-four)  out  of  the  sick-room.  At  least  every  third 
day  these  free  hours  should  be  at  night. 

The  nurse  may  not,  without  leave  of  the  Superintend- 


THE   QUEEN'S  MONUMENT.  61 

ent,  take  the  charge  of  any  patient  for  whom  her  ser- 
vices have  not  been  engaged. 

The  nurse  must  accept  no  gifts. 

The  nurse  may  not  stay  in  any  family  longer  than 
three  months  without  special  permission. 

The  Superintendent  should  be  informed,  if  possible,  of 
the  proposed  return  of  a  nurse  to  Sophia-hemmet  a  few 
days  before  it  takes  place. 

If  there  should  be  dissatisfaction  with  the  nurse,  or 
she  should  be  ill.  by  application  to  the  Superintendent 
a  substitute  will,  if  possible,  be  provided. 

A  copy  of  rules  for  the  sick-nurse  in  private  fami- 
lies should  accompany  this  paper:  — 

SOPHIA-HEMMET. 
RULES  FOB  SICK  NUKSES  IN  PRIVATE  FAMILIES. 

The  nurse  should  try  to  adapt  herself,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, to  her  surroundings  in  the  patient's  home. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  nurse :  — 

With  unceasing  patience  and  loving  tenderness  to 
watch  over  her  patient,  conscientiously  using  the  knowl- 
edge and  experience  she  has  acquired. 

To  keep  the  sick-room  clean  and  in  good  order. 

To  follow  implicitly  the  advice  and  directions  of  the 
attending  physician. 

To  take,  herself,  no  new  decided  steps  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  patient,  save  when  absolutely  compelled; 
and  when  this  occurs,  to  inform  the  physician  as  soon  as 
possible  of  what  has  taken  place. 

Not  to  take  care  of  a  new  patient  without  informing 
the  Superintendent  of  the  fact. 

To  wear  the  dress  appointed  for  the  nurses  of  Sophia- 
hemmet. 

To  remain  in  the  position  she  has  taken  until  she  is 
called  away  by  the  Superintendent,  or  she  is  no  longer 


62  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

needed  by  the  patient.  It  is  provided  that  her  stay  in 
one  family  should  not  be  longer  than  three  months  with- 
out special  permission. 

The  nurse  must  not  be  called  upon  for  any  duties  be- 
yond those  for  the  patient  and  the  care  of  his  room, 
unless  the  good  of  the  patient  or  the  fear  of  infection 
for  other  members  of  the  family  may  make  such  a  course 
necessary. 

The  nurse  should,  at  least  once  a  week,  come  into  com- 
munication with  Sophia-hemmet ;  especially  if  she  should 
not  be  well,  or  should  find  herself  overtaxed,  or  have 
some  cause  of  complaint,  must  she  make  known  her  diffi- 
culties to  the  Superintendent. 

The  nurse  must  give  a  copy  of  these  directions  to  the 
head  of  a  household  when  she  enters  upon  her  duties 
there. 

When  a  nurse  is  not  in  the  exercise  of  her  duties  in  a 
family  she  is  to  live  in  the  Home,  and  must  take  her 
part  in  the  work  there,  as  she  is  directed. 

Private  nurses  are  entitled  to  three  weeks'  rest  during 
the  year,  the  special  time  for  this  rest  being  appointed 
by  the  Superintendent. 

From  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  Sophia- 
hemmet,  an  enthusiastic  little  boy  came  home  much 
disappointed.  His  face  in  a  sorrowful  cloud,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Why,  the  Queen  was  an  old  lady ! "  The 
child  had  expected,  doubtless,  to  see  a  young  and  beau- 
tiful woman,  gorgeously  apparelled,  and  proudly  wear- 
ing a  shining  crown.  That  a  queen  could  be  seen  in  a 
bonnet  and  walking-dress,  and  no  longer  in  the  fresh- 
ness of  youth,  had  never  entered  into  his  imagination. 
The  Queen  of  Sweden  was  not  an  old  lady  then,  nor  is 
she  now,  though  she  seemed  so  from  the  child's  point 
of  view,  as  she  waited  in  the  broad  light  of  day  for  the 
ceremony  to  be  over. 


THE   QUEEN'S   MONUMENT.  63 

Queen  Sophia  was  born  in  1836.  In  1882  the  royal 
pair  celebrated  their  silver  wedding.  Of  course  the 
King,  though  he  was  in  most  festal  array,  had  the  usual 
fate  of  a  bridegroom,  —  nobody  looked  at  him,  handsome 
as  he  was.  The  Queen  was  beautiful  and  stately,  as  the 
occasion  demanded,  and  her  ermine-tipped  train  was  as 
long  as  any  court  etiquette  could  exact,  and  three 
honorable  gentlemen  bore  it  up,  as  court  rules  required. 
That  was  many  years  ago,  and  since  then  her  Majesty 
has  seen  much  suffering. 

One  of  the  largest  and  most  efficient  benevolent 
societies  of  Stockholm  is  under  the  special  direction 
and  protection  of  the  Queen.  She  is  also  much  inter- 
ested in  efforts  for  the  spiritual  good  of  her  people  at 
large,  and  of  the  circle  of  kindred  spirits  she  gathers 
about  her.  If  a  foreign  evangelist  of  any  special  gifts 
appears  in  Stockholm,  one  is  sure  to  hear  of  a  private 
"  little  meeting  "  at  the  palace,  where  the  earnest  man 
or  woman  has  been  requested  to  pray  and  preach  for 
the  benefit  of  an  invited  circle  of  hearers. 

Some  Stockholm  ladies  interested  in  the  cause  of 
temperance  called  upon  the  Queen  to  ask  her  co-opera- 
tion in  this  work  of  reform.  They  were  most  courte- 
ously received,  and  listened  to  with  evident  interest. 
The  Queen  was  no  stranger  to  the  question.  She  said 
she  had  herself  visited  in  London  one  of  the  "  coffee 
houses  "  established  as  substitutes  for  the  low  resorts 
of  the  drunkards,  and  had  been  favorably  impressed 
by  the  movement. 

It  was  gratifying  to  hear,  at  one  time  when  the 
Queen  was  in  a  foreign  country,  that  a  member  of 
her  immediate  circle  had  written  home  to  Sweden 
that  it  was  most  profitable  to  be  with  her  Majesty,  as 
she  had  gathered  such  earnest  English  people  about 
her. 


64  PICTURES  OF   SWKDISH  LIFE. 

The  Queen  reads  and  speaks  English  freely.  Look- 
ing over  some  books  she  had  lent  to  a  lady  of  the 
court  for  summer  reading,  one  found  that  they  were 
selected  on  true  Church  Union  principles.  One  was 
the  life  of  Baroness  Bunsen  (the  wife  of  Chevalier 
Bunsen),  who,  though  forced  to  live  in  a  court  circle, 
was  eager  to  keep  up  her  own  spiritual  life ;  the  others 
were  biographies  of  Moody,  the  American  evangelist, 
of  Miss  Fish,  the  New  England  missionary  to  Persia, 
and  of  a  simple  French  protestant  pastor  active  in 
spreading  the  truth  among  his  own  people. 

The  name  "  Sophie  "  was  written  in  the  books  in 
a  graceful,  flowing  hand. 

The  Queen  of  Sweden  is  universally  respected,  and 
if  she  is  to  be  judged  by  the  people  she  likes  to  have 
around  her,  she  "  loves  the  company  of  the  saints." 

We  may  not  deny  to  the  Queen  of  Sweden  the 
credit  that  would  be  awarded  to  a  cottage  mother. 
Sophia-hemmet  may  be  her  monument,  but  she  has 
written  on  living  tablets  —  the  human  hearts  of  her 
sons  —  a  record  that  may  be  far  more  lasting  than 
the  hospital  on  which  her  name  so  openly  stands. 

Queen  Sophia  has  no  daughters.  Her  oldest  son, 
the  Crown  Prince  Gustaf,  now  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
is  little  known,  as  etiquette  and  good  sense  require  of 
an  heir  to  the  throne  that  he  should  not  make  himself 
in  any  way  conspicuous.  He  should  not,  like  Absalom, 
"  prepare  himself  a  chariot  and  horses,  and  fifty  men 
to  run  before  him,"  and  rise  up  early  and  stand  beside 
the  way  of  the  gate,  and  when  any  man  that  has  a 
controversy  comes  to  the  King  for  judgment,  call  unto 
him  and  say, "  See,  thy  matters  are  good  and  right ;  but 
there  is  no  man  deputed  of  the  king  to  hear  thee.  .  .  . 
Oh  that  I  were  made  judge  in  the  land,  that  every  man 


THE   QUEEN'S   MONUMENT. 


65 


It  is  said  of  him,  how- 


that  hath  any  suit  or  cause  might  come  unto  me,  and 
I  would  do  him  justice  ! "  Nor  must  he,  like  Absalom, 
when  any  man  comes  "  to  him  to  do  him  obeisance," 
put  forth  his  hand,  and  take  him  and  kiss  him.  A 
crown  prince  may  not  "  steal  the  hearts  "  of  his  father's 
people.  He  must  be  cautious ;  and  cautious  the  Crown 
Prince  of  Sweden  certainly  is. 
ever,  that  when  left  regent 
during  the  absence  of  the 
King,  he  is  wise,  clear,  and 
decided  in  the  expression 
of  his  opinion  in  the  coun- 
cil chamber,  and  most  dil- 
igent in  examining  the 
papers  submitted  to  him 
for  his  signature. 

It  may  interest  many 
American  readers  to  know 
that  the  Crown  Princess 
Victoria  is  the  daughter  of 
the  good  Duchess  of  Baden, 
who,  while  Princess  of  Prussia,  was  for  many  years 
under  the  care  of  the  lovely  and  accomplished  Madame 
Sandoz,  the  beloved  sister  of  the  revered  Professor 
Arnold  Guyot  of  Princeton  College. 

The  Crown  Princess  came  to  Sweden  a  fresh 
young  German  girl,  full  of  life  and  health,  who 
might  not  have  looked  amiss  in  a  cottage,  but  who 
well  became  the  position  to  which  she  was  born. 
She  has  passed  much  time  in  the  South  of  Europe 
and  in  Egypt,  and  her  journal  of  travels  in  the  land 
of  the  pyramids  has  been  published  with  elaborate 
illustrations. 

Next  in  age  to  the  Crown  Prince  comes  Prince  Oscar, 

5 


THE   CROWN   PRINCESS. 


66  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

perhaps  the  most  widely  famed  of  the  brothers.  He 
has  chosen  love  and  a  home,  rather  than  a  merely 
princely  marriage,  and  a  possible  distant  chance  of 
coming  to  the  throne  through  the  death  of  many  that 
are  dear  to  him.  In  consequence  of  his  marriage 
with  Miss  Ebba  Munck,  a  Swedish  subject,  he  has 
ceased  to  be  among  the  heirs  of  royalty.  He  is  now 
known  as  Prince  Bernadotte,  and  as  Prince  Bernadotte 
is  most  highly  esteemed.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  be 
able  to  give  his  portrait  in  the  midst  of  the  Sunday 
school,  of  which  he  is  superintendent,  or  at  one  of  the 
informal  "teachers'  meetings,"  where  the  lesson  for 
the  next  Sabbath  is  freely  discussed  and  explained. 
Probably  no  such  picture  exists,  or  ever  will  exist 
with  the  consent  of  the  central  figure  required. 

The  boys  hunting  for  blank  cartridges,  when  there 
has  been  a  mock  battle  at  beautiful  Djursholm,  know 
Prince  Karl  as  the  handsome  officer  in  a  magnificent 
uniform,  who  sits  his  fine  horse  as  if  he  were  a 
centaur.  The  poor  know  him  as  the  Prince  who  has 
established  a  "  soup  kitchen,"  where  they  can  buy  a 
substantial  meal  at  the  cheapest  possible  rate,  and 
who  comes  himself,  sometimes,  to  eat  a  plate  of  pea 
soup  with  the  sons  of  the  people,  whom  he  has 
helped  to  good  daily  food,  to  be  paid  for  by  money 
honestly  earned.  Many  a  hardy  workman  who  sits 
at  one  of  the  simple  tables,  and  many  a  little  child 
who  has  come  for  a  kettle  of  good  cheer,  thinks  the 
best  part  of  the  entertainment  the  sight  of  the  fine, 
manly  face  of  "  our  Prince  Karl." 

Sometimes  through  the  open  window  of  the  royal 
nook  in  the  chapel  at  the  palace  in  Stockholm  a  side 
face  may  be  seen  that  tempts  the  beholder  to  exclaim, 
"  Is  it  a  ghost  ? "  For  it  has  been  whispered  that  the 


THE   QUEEN'S  MONUMENT.  67 

palace  is  haunted.  "  Has  the  young  soldier  Bernadotte 
appeared  on  the  scene  where  he  reigned  as  a  King  ? " 
It  is  but  the  youngest  of  Queen  Sophia's  sons,  Prince 
Eugene,  attending  the  service  in  the  royal  box.  He 
is  wonderfully  like  his  great-grandfather,  and  it  is  said 
has  a  bit  of  the  republican  in  him  by  inheritance. 

There  has  been  among  the  Bernadottes  in  Sweden  a 
decided  taste  for  the  fine  arts;  but  Prince  Eugene  is 
the  first  professional  artist  among  them.  He  has 
studied  in  Paris,  and  won  there  much  praise,  and  now 
has  his  own  studio  in  Stockholm.  Prince  Eugene  is 
on  familiar  terms  with  his  brother  artists,  and  may  now 
and  then  be  met,  with  a  lively  party  of  knights  of  the 
easel,  out  in  the  cars,  or  by  boat,  for  a  summer  excur- 
sion in  the  neighborhood  of  Stockholm. 

A  gentleman,  in  search  of  a  person  whom  he  wished 
to  employ,  tells  of  coming  upon  a  white-haired,  white- 
bearded  old  shoemaker,  busy  at  his  trade  in  his  little 
den  of  a  room  in  the  attic  of  a  poor  rickety  building 
in  Stockholm.  The  place  and  owner  spoke  of  cheerful 
poverty.  "  Are  not  times  hard  now  and  then,  when 
work  is  scarce  ?  "  asked  the  visitor.  "  Yes  !  yes  ! " 
said  the  old  man  ;  "  that  may  happen  sometimes.  But 
sometimes,  too,  I  go  to  Prince  Eugene  to  be  painted, 
and  then  I  get  a  good  lift,  you  may  be  sure ! " 

There  are  many  who  have  a  different  remembrance 
of  the  artist  Prince,  when,  about  twelve  years  ago,  he 
was  publicly  confirmed,  the  only  candidate  on  the 
solemn  occasion.  The  service  was  held  in  the  Eoyal 
Chapel,  a  richly  gilded  hall,  ornamented  with  angels 
much  in  the  style  of  those  on  Ponto  St.  Angelo.  Eichly 
covered  benches  were  placed  at  right  angles  with 
the  chancel,  on  either  side  of  it.  On  one  tier  sat  the 
court  ladies  in  white,  and  on  the  other,  the  uniformed 


68  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

court  gentlemen.  In  the  open  space  between  these 
observers  a  little  desk  and  a  seat  were  placed  for  the 
Prince,  and  on  his  left  a  chair,  facing  him,  for  the 
bishop  who  had  prepared  him  for  confirmation,  and 
was  now  to  conduct  his  public  examination. 

As  one  came  through  the  sacristy,  the  Prince  and 
the  Archbishop,  who  was  to  preach  on  the  occasion, 
were  to  be  seen  flitting  about  in  apparent  perturbation. 
They  soon  appeared,  however,  in  all  due  solemnity. 
Bishop  Beckman,  the  oldest  of  the  twelve  bishops 
(and  now  eighty  years  of  age),  made  the  opening  prayer, 
and  then  proceeded  to  give  the  Prince  such  an  exami- 
nation as  might  have  puzzled  many  a  country  pastor, 
not  fresh  from  his  studies.  The  Prince  acquitted  him- 
self well,  though  this  was  evidently  an  anxious  time 
for  him.  The  Queen,  like  many  another  Swedish 
mother  under  the  same  circumstances,  had  gone  care- 
fully over  the  lessons  with  her  son,  during  his  time  of 
preparation.  She  sometimes  let  fall  an  expression  as 
she  "  assisted  "  at  the  recitation,  to  the  effect  that  there 
had  been  a  tough  bit  of  work  with  the  doctrines,  that 
day,  for  her  and  the  candidate. 

The  examination  over,  the  Archbishop  preached  a 
good  sermon,  and  then  the  young  Prince  went  for- 
ward alone  to  the  chancel.  There  was  no  laying  on 
of  hands,  but  the  short  ceremony  was  solemn  and 
impressive. 

The  King,  the  Queen,  and  the  royal  brothers  were 
sitting  in  front  of  the  unifoimed  gentlemen,  on  one 
side  of  the  open  space  where  the  little  desk  had  been 
placed.  To  his  mother  the  young  Prince  went,  as  soon 
as  he  rose  from  his  knees  after  the  confirmation.  She 
kissed  him  and  embraced  him  tenderly,  with  evident 
feeling.  The  King  and  the  brothers  did  the  same  with 
cordial  affection. 


THE  QUEEN'S  MONUMENT.  69 

The  next  Sunday  the  royal  family  partook  of  the 
Holy  Communion  together. 

Much  time  has  rolled  away  since  all  this  happened, 
and  Prince  Eugene,  who  is  now  twenty-eight  years  of 
age,  has  seen  much  of  life,  in  many  lands,  since  he 
promised,  on  his  confirmation  day,  to  be  a  true  and 
faithful  Christian. 

May  Sophia-hemmet  long  stand  to  remind  the  Swedes 
of  the  future  of  the  royal  friend  of  her  people  who 
laid  its  corner  stone,  and  may  her  sons  be  a  strong 
bulwark  for  all  that  is  good,  and  right,  and  just,  in  the 
country  where  their  mother  is  now  an  honored  Queen  ! 


70  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


TWO  POETS. 

AMONG  the  rural  homes  clustered  at  lovely  Djurs- 
holm,  there  is  none  more  proudly  pointed  out  to  Swede 
and  stranger  than  that  of  Victor  Rydberg,  the  most 
famous  of  Swedish  living  authors.  This  home,  like 
a  true  eagle's  nest,  is  perched  high  above  the  walks  of 
men,  where  the  poet  can  look  out  on  forest  and  inlet, 
as  he  sits  in  his  study  and  ponders  great  thoughts. 

Even  in  an  aristocratic  country  a  man  from  the 
people  can  be  a  kind  of  king,  the  first  among  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  elected  to  the  highest  eminence 
by  the  unanimous  voice  of  his  countrymen.  Such  a 
position  is  awarded  in  Sweden  to  Victor  Rydberg. 

We  had  almost  said  that  Victor  Rydberg  was  a  self- 
made  man.  He  is  rather  a  God-made  man.  Gifted 
from  childhood,  left  early  an  orphan,  he  began  alone 
his  struggle  with  life.  He  soon  found  that  his  head 
was  a  better  reliance  for  daily  bread  than  his  friend- 
less, untrained  hands.  By  teaching  other  boys,  and 
using  his  skilful  pen,  he  got  on  as  best  he  could,  until 
his  rare  gifts  compelled  admiration,  and  won  for  him 
friends  who  rejoiced  to  lovingly  smooth  the  path  of 
the  brilliant  youth.  He  is  now  happy  in  a  home  of 
his  own,  a  professor  of  the  University  of  Stockholm, 
famous  throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  almost 
adored  in  his  own  land. 

Rydberg  is  no  spoiled,  conceited  author.  His  simple, 
modest  nature  is  too  noble  to  be  so  tainted.  One  feels, 


TWO  POETS. 


71 


in  his  presence,  that  he  is  a  great  man,  but  a  great 
man  not  locked  up  in  himself,  but  full  of  loving  human 
sympathies.  He  is  shy  and  quiet  and  retiring,  until 
some  kindred  subject  warms  him  into  lively  conversa- 
tion, and  brings  out  his  brilliant  powers.  Kydberg  is 
a  true  friend  and  lover  of  the  people,  and  a  strong 
reliance  for  struggling 
youth  and  suffering  hu- 
manity. Kydberg  has  a 
refined  woman's  sensi- 
tiveness as  to  what  is 
true  and  honest  and 
pure  and  tender,  and  a 
love  for  little  children 
that  draws  them  about 
him  as  they  would  clus- 
ter in  the  sunlight. 

Such  is  the  man.  As 
a  poet,  one  must  look 
up  to  him  as  one  far 
raised  above  the  common 
ranks  of  his  fellows. 
We  think  of  him  as 
of  the  Amazon  among 

rivers,  —  that  great  flood  that  springs  from  the  solemn, 
rocky  heights  of  the  snow-clad  Andes,  and  makes  its 
way,  now  through  wild  tracts  that  bold  explorers  are 
seeking  to  map  out,  and  now  by  the  haunts  of  men, 
to  pour  at  last  its  volume  of  waters,  itself  like  a  pure 
ocean,  to  meet  the  surging  Atlantic. 

Translated  into  many  languages,  "Roman  Days," 
"The  Last  Athenian,"  "The  Armorer,"  etc.,  have  es- 
tablished Rydberg's  fame  as  a  deep  prose  writer.  As 
for  his  poetry,  only  a  nightingale  can  sing  a  nightin- 


VICTOR  RYDBERG'S  VILLA. 


72  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

gale's  song,  and  only  Rydberg  could  properly  translate 
his  own  poetry ;  and  even  then,  in  another  language  it 
could  never  be  so  a  part  of  himself  as  when  coming  in 
its  natural  form  from  his  thoroughly  Swedish  heart. 

America  boasts  its  Mississippi  as  well  as  its  Amazon, 
—  two  royal  rivers,  without  their  peers.  The  Missis- 
sippi springs  from  its  northern  streams  and  lakes, 
leaps  down  its  gay  water-falls,  takes  to  itself  the  turbid 
Missouri,  and,  shut  in  by  the  embankments  of  man, 
rolls  along  past  busy  cities  and  fields  white  for  the 
harvest  of  the  hot  South.  It  is  the  highway  of  traffic 
for  a  stirring  multitude,  the  strong,  throbbing  artery  of 
the  mighty  West,  that  flows  at  last  past  a  seething 
metropolis,  to  be  welcomed  by  the  warm  waters  of  the 
waiting  Gulf. 

Count  Carl  Snoilsky  is  the  brother  poet  of  Rydberg, 
the  Mississippi  beside  the  Amazon.  Born  to  a  noble 
name,  a  dweller  in  cities  at  home  and  abroad,  for  long 
years  a  popular  and  admired  poet,  a  handsome  and  cour- 
teous gentleman,  the  friend  of  the  King,  Snoilsky  has 
now,  for  his  later  years  of  activity,  a  fixed  position  as 
a  cultured  bibliopolist  at  the  head  of  the  great  Royal 
Library  at  Stockholm.  He  has  a  title  almost  as  long 
as  an  Alexandrine,  —  "  Kungligofverbibliotekarie,"  and 
a  popularity  nearly  as  comprehensive  He  has  written 
poems  where  the  man  of  the  world  is  seen  in  the 
graceful  verse,  and  others,  more  unstudied,  which  aged 
scholars  and  wideawake  school-boyfe  read  with  equal 
delight.  In  a  different  vein  Snoilsky  shows,  as  in 
"  The  Porcelain  Factory  "  and  "  The  Serving  Brother," 
a  warm  feeling  for  "  simple  folk,"  and  their  unselfish 
work  for  their  prosperous  brethren.  It  is  probably, 
however,  Snoilsky's  historical  poems  that  have  so  fully 
won  for  him  the  heart  of  the  Swedish  people.  They 


TWO   POETS.  73 

are  read  in  the  family  circle  or  in  solitude,  as  one 
dwells  on  or  listens  again  and  again  to  a  loved,  familiar 
melody.  Scenes  from  these  poems  are  painted  on  can- 
vas, engraved  in  elegantly  illustrated  books,  and  repre- 
sented in  gay  circles  in  faultless  tableaux  vivants,  and 
ever  and  always  give  to  the  Swedish  mind  vivid  pic- 
tures of  the  great  days  of  the  Swedish  past. 

Kydberg  and  Snoilsky  stand  pre-eminent  among 
the  Swedish  poets ;  but  there  are  other  sources  and 
founts  of  poesy  by  which  the  literature  of  Sweden 
is  now  beautified  and  brightened. 

Among  these  writers  we  will  only  name  Wirse'n  and 
Beckman,  each  for  a  special  reason. 

C.  D.  af  Wirsen  has  written  much  and  well.  Many 
of  his  poems  have  a  decidedly  religious  cast,  and  all 
are  widely  read  by  warm  admirers. 

Beckman  has  understood  how,  like  Whittier  and 
Lowell,  to  pen  beautiful  and  striking  verses,  while 
advocating  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  urging  much- 
needed  reforms. 

Both  Wirse'n  and  Beckman  have  written  poems,  on 
various  subjects  and  in  various  styles,  well  worthy  of 
enthusiastic  admiration. 

There  are  many  other  poets  in  Sweden  well  deserv- 
ing mention,  but  the  choice  in  naming  them  must  so 
wholly  depend  upon  individual  taste  that  one  natu- 
rally hesitates  to  make  a  further  selection.  The  reader 
must  learn  the  Swedish  language,  come  to  Sweden, 
and  choose  his  favorites  for  himself. 


74  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


"THE   UNCLES." 

THERE  is  one  place  in  Sweden  from  which  the  King 
is  by  law  excluded.  His  Majesty  may  not  set  his  foot 
on  the  premises  where  the  Riksdag,  the  legislative 
body  chosen  by  the  Swedish  people,  is  in  session. 
Any  citizen  may  be  admitted  to  listen  to  its  public 
deliberations,  but  there  the  King  has  no  free  ticket. 

From  time  immemorial  there  have  been  popular 
assemblies  in  Sweden  where  matters  of  public  moment 
have  been  discussed  and  decided.  In  later  times  the 
"  lords  and  mighty  men  "  began  to  take  the  lead  in 
such  consultations.  It  was  not  until  the  time  of  the 
patriot  Engelbrekt  (in  1435)  that  a  formal  Riksdag 
consisting  of  the  four  estates  was  summoned  to  meet. 
In  this  assembly,  held  at  Arboga,  the  nobles,  the 
clergy,  the  burghers,  and  the  peasants  were  called  on 
to  legislate  as  one  body  for  the  good  of  their  native 
land. 

It  has  been  playfully  said  that  this  "  four  wheeler  " 
was  in  vogue  until  1866,  when  the  present  "two- 
wheeled  legal  vehicle"  was  adopted  by  the  Swedes. 
During  the  reign  of  the  late  King,  Karl  XV.  (the 
brother  of  the  present  sovereign),  this  change  was 
brought  about.  The  four  estates  had  hitherto  held 
their  deliberations  in  separate  session,  the  nobles 
meeting  hi  their  own  "House  of  Knights"  (Eiddar- 
husef). 


"THE  UNCLES."  75 

In  1866  it  was  decided  that  the  Riksdag  should 
thereafter  consist  of  two  Chambers,  having  equal 
power  and  authority,  and  that  they  should  hold 
their  sessions  every  year,  instead  of  every  third  year, 
as  had  hitherto  been  the  custom ;  the  members  of 
the  First  Chamber  should  be  chosen  for  nine  years, 
and  elected  by  the  established  bodies  for  local  govern- 
ment ;  the  Second  Chamber  should  be  chosen  by 
the  people,  and  for  a  period  of  three  years.  The 
members  of  the  Second  Chamber  only  are  salaried. 
They  each  receive  twelve  hundred  crowns  (less  than 
$300)  for  their  session  of  four  months,  from  the 
middle  of  January  to  the  middle  of  May.  If  the 
session  is  prolonged,  this  salary  must  suffice  for  them : 
so  they  have  no  temptation  to  unnecessarily  protract 
their  sittings.  If  an  extra  session  be  called,  the 
payment  for  the  members  is  in  the  same  proportion 
as  for  the  regular  meeting  (three  hundred  crowns  a 
month).  The  King  has  the  right  to  dismiss  at  will  the 
Riksdag,  and  call  for  a  new  election. 

It  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  tacit  understand- 
ing that  if  the  Cabinet  and  the  Riksdag  are  directly 
at  variance,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  shall  resign, 
and  a  new  one  be  formed. 

The  Chambers  are  said  to  have  equal  power ;  but  the 
Second  Chamber,  having  always  the  most  members, 
has  naturally  the  most  power  when  the  vote  is  taken 
of  the  whole  assembled  Riksdag,  as  is  the  case  in 
matters  relating  to  the  budget. 

To  be  a  member  of  the  First  Chamber,  a  man 
must  be  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  have  a  capital 
amounting  to  about  $20,000,  or  an  income  of  about 
$1,000. 

To  be  eligible  as  a  member  of  the  Second  Chamber, 


76  PICTUEES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

a  citizen  must  be  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  have 
the  full  qualifications  of  a  voter  in  the  electoral  dis- 
trict by  which  he  is  chosen.1 

Any  citizen  of  any  calling,  possessing  a  free  citizen's 
full  rights,  is  eligible  to  election  for  either  Chamber, 
if  he  have  the  required  qualifications  with  reference 
to  property  and  age.  An  ex-Prime  Minister  (Stals- 
minister)  may  even  become  a  member  of  the  Second 
Chamber. 

The  greater  property  qualification  and  the  greater 
age  of  the  members  of  the  First  Chamber  make  it 
naturally  a  more  aristocratic  and  conservative  body 
than  the  Second,  while  progressive  and  democratic 
tendencies  are  more  marked  in  the  latter. 

Bishops  and  country  pastors,  nobles  and  self-made 
men,  poets  and  iron-masters,  editors  and  manufac- 
turers, workmen  and  millionnaires,  peasants  and  city 
nabobs,  must  and  do  meet  on  equal  ground  in  the 
Eiksdag.  "Mr."  (Herr)  is  the  proper  mode  of  address 
of  the  members  to  each  other  in  the  discussions,  with 
the  exception  that  the  titles  Count  and  Baron  are  still 
used,  perhaps  as  a  courteous  return  for  the  voluntary 
abandonment  by  the  House  of  Knights  of  their  old 
political  privileges.  In  the  newspaper  reports,  how- 
ever, these  titles  usually  give  way  to  the  simple  "  Mr." 
(Herr)  in  giving  the  doings  of  the  Eiksdag. 

The  Speakers  of  both  Chambers  are  appointed  by 
the  King,  and  are  entitled  to  special  precedence  in  the 
social  world,  as  well  as  to  universal  and  usually  well- 
deserved  respect. 

1  To  be  a  voter  for  the  member  of  the  Riksdag,  a  man  must  be  an 
authorized  citizen,  and  have  an  income  of  not  less  than  eight  hundred 
crowns  a  year  (a  little  more  than  $200). 


"THE   UNCLES."  77 

The  members  of  the  Eiksdag  are  often  spoken  of  in 
familiar  parlance  as  "  The  Uncles."  The  Uncles  are 
usually  invited  to  a  royal  entertainment  at  the  palace 
during  the  session.  The  wives,  however,  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Second  Chamber  are  not  included  in  the 
invitation,  if  they  are  not  of  noble  birth  and  have  not 
been  presented  at  court.  When  a  man  becomes  a 
Cabinet  minister,  his  wife  is  entitled  to  be  presented, 
whatever  her  antecedents  may  have  been.  She  is 
then  admitted  to  the  court  circle,  called  in  Stockholm 
"  Society  "  par  excellence. 

A  man  may  not,  when  elected  to  the  Eiksdag,  refuse 
to  act  as  a  member,  unless  he  have  before  served  for 
three  years,  or  be  over  sixty  years  of  age,  or  be  pre- 
vented by  some  other  lawful  hindrance. 

In  October,  1892,  a  special  meeting  of  the  Eiksdag 
was  called  to  consider  the  question  of  a  new  military 
organization  for  Sweden,  which  was  agreed  upon  by  a 
large  majority.  The  hearty  acceptance  of  this  pro- 
posal was  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  personal 
influence  exerted  by  General  (Baron)  Eappe,  then,  as 
now  in  1894,  Minister  of  War.  His  dignified,  noble, 
and  commanding  bearing,  his  soldierly  eloquence,  and 
his  evident  conviction  of  the  wisdom  of  the  course  he 
advocated,  gave  to  his  speech  on  the  occasion  a  pro- 
found effect.  He  is  a  man  of  marked  ability,  high 
character,  and  decided  Christian  life. 

In  1887  the  liberal  party  in  Stockholm  had  suc- 
ceeded in  electing  their  "  ticket "  for  the  twenty-two 
members  for  the  Eiksdag,  one  for  every  ten  thousand 
of  the  inhabitants.  The  conservatives  discovered  that 
one  of  the  newly  elected  members,  a  mechanic,  had 
some  years  before,  while  a  common  workman  in  a  dis- 
tant town,  neglected  to  pay  his  taxes,  amounting  to 


78  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

about  $3.00,  and  that  this  sum  had  never  been  paid. 
This  fact,  being  made  public,  not  only  involved  his 
disability  to  be  a  member  of  the  Eiksdag,  but  (accord- 
ing to  an  absurd  law  then  existing)  that  of  the  whole 
"liberal  ticket"  in  a  body.  The  twenty-two  liberals 
forfeited  their  places,  and  the  recipients  of  the  next 
highest  number  of  votes  at  the  late  election  (twenty- 
two  conservatives)  found  themselves  unexpectedly 
members  of  the  Eiksdag.  So  there  came  to  be  a  change 
in  the  majority  in  the  Riksdag,  a  change  in  the  minis- 
try, and  a  change  in  the  policy  of  the  government  from 
free  trade  to  a  protective  tariff.  So  much  for  laxity 
about  a  citizen's  payment  of  a  debt  of  $3.00.  This 
circumstance  made  clear  the  necessity  of  a  change  in 
the  old  law.  No  one  member's  disability,  discovered 
after  an  election,  can  now  affect  his  fellow-members ; 
he  only  is  personally  the  sufferer. 

There  is  very  little  of  the  "  spread  eagle  "  style  of 
oratory,  or  of  talking  purely  for  constituents  to  read, 
in  the  Eiksdag  of  Sweden.  The  speeches  are  generally 
plain,  sensible,  and  most  closely  bearing  on  the  subject 
in  question.  There  are  members  who  hold  the 
Chambers  in  perfect  silence,  but  there  are  others  who 
have  always  a  running  accompaniment  of  buzzing, 
animated  talk  among  the  should-be  listeners.  There 
is  rarely  any  discourtesy  in  the  debates,  but  now  and 
then  a  hasty  tongue  must  make  the  amende  of  openly 
asking  to  be  excused  for  unwarrantable  utterances. 
There  are  several  very  fiery  and  eloquent  speakers, 
whom  it  is  deemed  a  great  privilege  to  hear,  though 
their  gifts  of  oratory  do  not  always  influence  the  vote 
on  the  question  in  agitation. 

Not  only  the  clergymen  of  the  State  Church,  but 
those  of  the  dissenting  bodies,  appear  in  the  Eiksdag. 


"THE   UNCLES."  79 

One  of  the  latter  is  a  frequent  speaker  in  the  Second 
Chamber.  He  is  a  well-known  and  much  admired 
preacher  in  a  large  church  in  Stockholm  and  carrying 
out  in  its  work  the  modern  idea  of  making  its  wor- 
shippers as  much  as  possible  like  one  great  family. 
It  has  its  week-day  meetings  for  religious,  musical, 
benevolent,  and  social  purposes,  as  well  as  its  Sunday- 
school  and  fully  attended  services  on  the  First  Day  of 
the  week. 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  needs  now  felt  and 
making  themselves  known  in  Sweden,  a  few  of  the 
bills  proposed  of  late  years  in  the  Eiksdag  may  be 
mentioned :  — 

"  A  bill  for  universal  suffrage. 

"  A  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  Bureau  of  Labor,  for 
statistics,  etc.,  —  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  expected 
that  a  Eoyal  Commission  will  be  appointed  to  investi- 
gate the  subject  and  suggest  the  best  means  of  procuring 
and  using  statistics  on  this  important  subject. 

"  A  bill  to  abolish  written  translations  from  Swedish 
to  Latin  at  the  examination  of  students  for  admission  to 
the  universities. 

"A  bill  to  introduce  the  'zontariff'  on  the  State 
railroads. 

"  A  bill  for  dividing  the  diocese  of  Hernosand,  which 
comprises  the  whole  northern  half  of  Sweden. 

"  A  bill  to  make  co-educational  the  younger  classes  in 
certain  State  schools,  as  they  already  are  in  country 
common  schools. 

"A  bill  to  prevent,  under  certain  conditions,  the 
hawking  of  beer  and  ale  in  wagons  through  country 
districts. 

"  A  bill  to  extend  the  protection  of  a  married  woman's 
right  of  property." 


80  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

After  the  last  regular  session  of  the  time  for  which 
they  are  elected  has  closed,  the  Uncles  are  still  mem- 
bers of  the  Riksdag,  and  may  be  summoned  to  an  extra 
session  in  any  emergency  to  decide  upon  matters  im- 
portant for  the  welfare  of  Sweden. 


II. 

THE    HOMES. 


SHAKING  HANDS   WITH   SVEA. 


THE  RED  COTTAGE. 
THE  CASTLE. 
WHAT'S  IN  A  NAME? 
A  SWEDISH  HOUSEHOLD. 
THE  SWEDISH  LANGUAGE. 
SUNDAY  MORNING. 
SUNDAY  AFTERNOON. 


FREDRIKA  BREMER. 

THE  DEAN'S  REBUKE. 

A  PAIR  OF  POORHOUSES. 

A  SWEDISH  WINTER. 

SUMMER. 

JOY  AND  SORROW. 

THE  SEVEN  AGES. 


THE  EED  COTTAGE. 

WHEN  a  Swede  speaks  of  "  the  red  cottage,"  to 
his  mind  the  expression  is  like  a  term  of 
endearment ;  for  it  describes  for  him  a  humble  home 
truly,  but  a  home  of  thrift,  industry,  modest  comfort, 
and  cheerful  contentment. 

There,  perhaps,  is  the  loom  the  lover  made  with  his 
own  hands  for  his  betrothed's  bridal  present,  and  there 
the  gay-flowered  chest  which  contains  the  stores  of 
linen  her  mother  gave  her  when  she  left  her  maiden- 
hood's home.  There  entered  the  bride,  with  the  green 
myrtle  crown  perched  above  her  flowing  white  veil, 
quite  satisfied  with  her  black  dress,  such  as  her  grand- 
mother wore  on  her  own  wedding,  and  such  as  a  peas- 
ant bride  now  should  wear. 

The  bridal  pair  may  have  been  one  among  a  half- 
dozen  couples  who  stood  together  round  the  altar,  and 
the  officiating  clergyman  must  have  had  his  wits  about 
him  not  to  marry  Per  to  Maria,  instead  of  to  Anna,  to 
whom  he  had  been,  almost  from  childhood,  betrothed. 

The  cottage  was  not  empty  when  the  young  people 
came  to  it,  so  full  of  joy.  There  was  an  infirm  old 
man  there,  who  sat  in  the  big  chair  just  where  the 
sunshine  could  reach  him  through  the  open  door.  The 
bridegroom  was  an  only  son's  only  son,  and  a  part 
of  his  inheritance  was  his  grandfather  to  take  care  of. 
Long  ago  the  old  man  had  found  his  strength  failing 
for  daily  labor,  and  had  given  over  the  cottage  and  bit 


84  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

of  land  to  his  son  in  the  vigor  of  life,  with  the  pro- 
vision that  he  should  always  have  a  right  to  live  under 
the  familiar  roof,  and  his  simple  needs  for  food  and 
clothing  be  supplied.  He  is  eighty  years  old  now,  and 
trembles  as  he  rises  to  speak  to  the  bride.  She  drops 
a  little  courtesy  for  him,  and.  her  fresh  young  face 
looks  kindly  at  the  old  man ;  but  somehow  a  tear  comes 
to  his  eye,  instead  of  the  twinkle  of  an  answering 
smile. 

There  are  only  two  rooms  in  the  cottage,  —  the  room, 
and  a  little  chamber  beside  it,  which  the  old  man 
may  call  his  own  as  long  as  he  lives.  Perhaps,  when 
winter  comes,  he  will  creep  into  his  bed,  to  stay  there 
like  the  bear,  though  not  sleeping.  There  he  will  be 
warm,  and  in  nobody's  way.  Anna  will  take  in  his 
food  to  him,  with  a  friendly  word,  and  when  spring 
comes,  his  double  window  will  be  taken  out,  and  the 
sparrows  will  look  in  at  him,  and  he  can  see  the  buds 
on  the  apple-tree ;  and  he  feels  so  contented  where  he 
is  that  he  does  not  want  to  get  up,  and  he  never  rises 
again,  though  he  may  live  long  years  more,  if  such  an 
existence  can  be  called  living.  There  is  a  name  for 
such  old  fixtures  for  which  the  English  language  has 
no  corresponding  expression.  He  is  "the  pensioned 
old  man,"  "  the  exception,"  who  must  be  "  entertained  " 
on  the  spot  as  long  as  he  has  breath  in  his  feeble  old 
body.  He  is  peaceful  and  thankful.  It  might  have 
been  worse.  If  Per  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to  go  to 
America,  then  new  people  would  have  taken  the  cot- 
tage, with  his  reserved  right  to  be  there  as  a  provision 
in  the  bargain.  How  had  it  gone  with  some  old  men 
and  women  under  such  circumstances  ?  There  are 
dark  stories  afloat  in  that  chapter.  These  old  "  excep- 
tions "  have  even  become  burdensome  to  their  own 
children  or  grandchildren ! 


THE    RED   COTTAGE.  85 

The  owner  of  an  estate  in  Southern  Sweden  has 
made  an  arrangement  that  such  old  people  shall  not  be 
passed  on  to  new  cottagers  on  the  little  property,  but 
shall  be  assured  of  a  support  as  long  as  they  live,  by  the 
proprietor  of  the  whole  estate,  who  will  build  for  them 
each  a  little  home,  if  there  is  not  room  for  them  where 
they  have  before  lived.  Such  "  exceptions  "  are  even 


DOMESTIC    DUTIKS. 


to  have  a  little  money  annually  given  them,  beyond 
their  clothing,  food,  and  lodging.  This  looks  well,  and 
is  a  step  in  the  right  direction ;  but  as  human  nature  is, 
the  existence  of  these  "  exceptions "  is  most  undesir- 
able. If  a  poor  old  man's  own  flesh  and  blood  can 
weary  of  him,  it  might  happen  that  his  needs  would 
not  be  particularly  inquired  into  by  a  steward,  if  the 
landowner  were  absent  in  a  foreign  country,  or  were 
for  a  long  period  in  the  capital.  A  cruel  or  extrava- 


86  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

gant  landlord  might  find  such  "exceptions"  encum- 
brances, who  should  be  provided  for  at  the  least 
possible  expense,  within  the  limits  that  would  prevent 
the  interference  of  law  in  their  favor.  Indeed,  the  old 
of  the  working  classes  have  nowhere  a  sure  prospect 
of  care  but  in  the  love  and  respect  of  their  children 
and  children's  children.  How  many  a  Pat  or  a  Bridget 
in  America  imports  old  parents  to  be  tenderly  cared 
for  in  their  declining  years  ! 

The  red  cottage  shines  cheerfully  out  in  the  sum- 
mer-time, with  its  doorway  and  little  square  windows 
framed  in  white,  like  a  flower  in  the  midst  of  the 
greenness;  but  such  a  cottage  must  be  seen  in  the 
midst  of  the  winter  snows  to  be  thoroughly  appreci- 
ated,—  snows  that  may  lie  on  the  ground  for  five  or  six 
months  of  the  year.  The  red  used  for  painting  them 
is  a  bright  shade  of  crimson.  A  foreigner,  staying  at 
a  country  house  where  the  barns  and  outbuildings 
were  as  usual  red,  saw,  one  autumn  morning,  a  bucket 
of  red  mixture  apparently,  with  a  brush  in  it,  standing 
on  the  steps  of  one  of  these  buildings  which  seemed 
in  perfect  repair.  "  Are  you  going  to  paint  again  ? "  she 
said  in  surprise,  to  the  hostess.  The  answer  was  a 
merry  laugh,  and  the  explanation  that  piggie  had 
been  killed,  and  his  blood  had  been  stirred  and  set  to 
cool  for  black  pudding.  This  gives  an  idea  of  the  hue 
of  the  paint  generally  used  for  the  cottages :  it  is  a 
living  color. 

The  long  winter,  with  its  short  days  and  abundant 
darkness,  making  out-of-door  work  impossible, — if  there 
were  any  to  do,  —  has  no  doubt  prompted  the  Swedish 
cottagers  to  the  home  industry  for  which  they  are  so 
famous.  A  fisher-girl  tells  us  that  she  had  never  worn 
anything,  before  she  was  fifteen  years  old,  that  was  not 


THE   RED   COTTAGE.  87 

made  by  her  mother's  own  fireside.  Even  her  shoes 
had  been  her  father's  work,  and  the  same  skilful  hands 
had  sewed  the  strong  clothes  for  her  elder  brothers,  as 
well  as  the  sails  for  his  four  boats,  and  had  made  boats 
themselves. 

Living  in  the  country  is  rendered  easy,  in  Sweden,  by 
the  presence  in  the  neighborhood  of  all  sorts  of  me- 
chanics, who  do  their  work  under  their  own  roof,  and 
come  when  summoned  to  help  a  neighbor,  for  a  most 
modest  recompense.  You  are  always  sure  to  have 
a  skilful  cobbler,  and  perhaps  an  expert  shoemaker, 
accessible  and  accommodating.  Smith  and  carpenter, 
and  even  tailor,  are  generally  to  be  found  near  you, 
and  it  may  be  a  man  who  frames  engravings,  sets  a 
pane  of  glass,  or  does  a  little  painting  or  varnishing 
quite  in  city  style. 

In  the  time  of  Gustaf  Adolf,  a  traveller  who  had 
been  in  Sweden  wrote:  "Those  Swedes  ought  to  be 
able  to  excel  in  any  kind  of  mechanical  work ;  for  with- 
out instruction  they  make  well,  in  the  country,  all  that 
they  need  in  their  own  homes." 

The  spinning-wheel  and  the  loom  are  not  yet  ban- 
ished from  the  red  cottage,  and  on  many  large  estates 
the  wife  of  the  proprietor  is  proud  to  show  to  the 
stranger,  carpets  and  linen  and  stout  stuff  for  dresses, 
woven  under  her  own  supervision.  The  young  ladies 
in  such  a  home  are  often  skilful  in  weaving  beautiful 
window-curtains  and  portieres  in  old  northern  pat- 
terns, for  which  they  have  not  only  a  preference,  but 
almost  a  superstitious  reverence. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  cottages  in  Sweden 
are  red.  Now  and  then  one  sees  a  shabby,  unpainted 
dwelling,  where  thrift  and  poverty,  or  need  and 
drunkenness  have  had  a  sore  struggle.  Some  of  these 


88  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

poorer  homes  lie  in  tracts  full  of  beauty,  and  their 
occupants  often  seem  to  enjoy,  all  the  more,  the  lavish 
charms  of  nature  outside  the  cottage,  from  their  con- 
trast with  the  lack  of  attractions  within. 

A  love  of  nature  is  a  marked  peculiarity  of  the 
Swedes  in  humble  life.  When  an  Irish  maid  would 
ask  leave  to  go  to  see  her  "  cousins,"  a  Swedish  one 
wants  permission  to  "  sit  a  while  in  the  woods  with 
two  or  three  of  the  girls."  Such  little  parties  seem  to 
breathe  more  freely  and  joyously  when  once  in  the  open 
air,  and  come  home  with  hands  full  of  wild-flowers, 
that  are  as  much  rejoiced  over  as  if  they  were  speci- 
mens of  rare  exotics. 

In  a  Swedish  cottage  the  brown  bread  (hung  in 
hard  round  cakes  against  the  wall) ;  herring,  fresh  or 
salted,  not  smoked ;  various  kinds  of  porridge,  of  grue] ; 
a  slice  of  bacon  to  eat  with  potatoes,  —  are  the  staple 
articles  in  the  family  diet.  The  fathers  and  brothers 
in  such  homes  are  sure  to  wear  strong  leather  aprons, 
in  which  they  go  about  all  day,  to  the  great  saving  of 
the  knees  of  their  trousers.  Even  in  Stockholm,  one 
may  see  mechanics  and  laborers  going  to  their  work 
with  a  blue  cotton  or  a  leather  apron  in  full  sight,  or 
perhaps  hanging  below  a  respectable  overcoat. 

The  hat  or  bonnet  has  been  an  unknown  article  in 
the  red  cottage,  and  even  now  one  may  be  at  a  country 
church  where  not  a  hat  or  bonnet  is  to  be  seen  save 
on  the  head  of  the  foreign  observer.  Black  is  the  uni- 
versal church  dress  for  the  women  of  the  red  cottage. 
A  rich  damask  black-silk  handkerchief  for  the  head  is 
the  thing  for  summer  wear ;  but  in  winter  a  three-cor- 
nered knit  or  woven  colored  woollen  tippet  may  take 
its  place.  Now,  a  maid  from  the  country  has  not  been 
many  weeks  in  Stockholm,  or  one  of  the  smaller  cities, 


THE   RED   COTTAGE.  89 

before  she  appears  iii  a  hat,  and  even  carries  a  parasol, 
if  she  happens  to  have  a  taste  for  splendor.  White 
handkerchiefs,  coquettishly  disposed  round  a  fair  face, 
or  a  pretty  colored  substitute,  are  not  uncommon  on  a 
week  day,  but  they  rarely  appear  on  Sunday,  excepting 
for  children. 

A  young  girl  from  a  cottage  was  heard  to  complain 


ANDERS    AND    BRITA. 


mournfully  that  she  had  only  fifteen  aprons.  A  mod- 
erately good  stock  that  seemed  to  an  American  to  be  ; 
but  when  washing  is  done  rarely,  and  work  is  the  order 
for  every  day,  a  score  or  two  of  aprons  might  not  be 
superfluous. 

The  Swedish  girls  from  the  red  cottages  are  often 
very  beautiful,  fair-faced  and  fair-haired  ;  and  when 
Nature  has  rippled  in  bright  waves  the  abundant 
locks,  they  are  particularly  charming. 


90  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

To  begin  in  a  cottage  is  not  always  to  end  in  a  cot- 
tage. From  such  humble  homes  many  of  the  distin- 
guished men  of  Sweden  have  come,  and  have  not  been 
ashamed  of  their  origin.  Poets  and  musicians  and 
chemists  and  engineers  have,  in  a  red  cottage,  fared 
simply  and  worked  hard  in  childhood,  to  have  even- 
tually a  world-wide  fame  and  an  honored  and  loved 
place  in  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen. 


THE   CASTLE.  91 


THE   CASTLE. 

THE  nobility  of  Sweden  have  now  no  legal  privi- 
leges different  from  their  fellow-citizens ;  they  have, 
however,  the  liberty  of  meeting,  at  stated  times,  in 
the  old  House  of  the  Knights,  to  confer  with  regard 
to  matters  concerning  their  order,  and  the  families 
which  belong  to  it.  It  was  lately  suggested  in  one 
of  their  meetings  that  there  was,  still  unrepealed, 
an  old  law  giving  the  nobility  a  privilege  which  was 
by  them  neglected,  and  possibly  utterly  forgotten. 
This  privilege  the  speaker  then  playfully  stated  to  be 
the  right  to  administer  corporal  punishment  to  the 
dependants  on  their  estates.  This  practice  was  not 
given  up,  it  seems,  at  the  opening  of  this  century ;  for 
Balzar  von  Platen,  who  had  advocated  this  method  of 
enforcement  of  the  fulfilment  of  law  on  board  ship, 
practised  it  on  his  own  estate.  He  was,  however,  so 
afraid  that  his  hasty  temper  would  lead  him  to  pun- 
ishing unjustly  or  too  severely,  that  he  gave  the  cane 
he  used  for  the  purpose  into  the  hands  of  his  gentle 
wife,  that  he  might  always  have  time  for  reflection 
before  he  proceeded  to  personal  correction. 

Though  the  important  legal  privileges  of  the  nobil- 
ity1 no  longer  exist,  the  order  retains  its  full  social 
prestige,  as  is  proved  by  the  occasional  giving  of  the 

1  Matters  that  concern  minors  belonging  to  the  nobility,  must  be 
brought  before  a  higher  court  than  that  which  decides  in  the  affairs  of 
minors  of  a  different  station.  There  are  other  provisions  of  trifling 
moment  that  hear  traces  of  the  old  privileges  of  the  nobility. 


92  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

title  of  "  baron,"  with  no  barouy  annexed,  to  a  person 
whom  the  King  may  wish  to  distinguish  for  peculiar 
merit  or  ability.  Nordenskiold,  after  his  triumphal 
progress  among  the  nations,  was  received  in  the  capital 
of  his  country,  on  his  return  from  his  arctic  voyage, 
with  magnificent  illuminations,  and  the  King  made 
him,  then  and  there,  a  baron,  and  presented  him  with 
a  star  set  with  diamonds,  as  his  badge  of  the  favorite 
Swedish  order  of  the  North  Star.  Nordenskiold  was 
by  birth  of  a  noble  family,  but  without  a  title. 

The  House  of  Knights  was  established  in  the  time 
of  Gustaf  Adolf,  and  its  code  of  regulations  formulated. 
It  is  interesting  to  see  how  many  of  the  noble  families 
in  Sweden  owe  this  kind  of  "  promotion  "  to  the  feats 
of  arms  of  one  of  their  members  during  the  "  thirty 
years  war."  Many  brave  foreigners  also,  so  came  to 
be  Swedish  nobles,  and  their  descendants  are  now 
counted  as  veritable  Swedes.  It  is  convenient  in 
Sweden  for  a  man  to  have  a  title  when  "  riches  take 
wings."  He  simply  enters  on  what  work  he  chooses, 
and  in  a  most  republican  way  does  not  lose  his  social 
consideration.  If  he  is  a  helpless  do-nothing,  his 
friends  often  support  him,  rather  than  that  he  should 
be  a  disgrace  to  an  old  family  name,  —  or  send  him  to 
America. 

For  indigent  ladies  of  noble  families  the  case  was 
long  different.  There  were  certain  forms  of  pensions 
and  small  annuities  for  them  ;  but  often  not  sufficient 
for  a  full,  respectable  maintenance.  To  be  classed  with 
the  "  pauvre  honteux  "  was  not  agreeable,  but  some- 
times a  home  in  such  an  asylum  was  the  only  refuge. 
There  has  lately  appeared  in  a  Stockholm  publication 
the  portrait  of  a  lady,  the  daughter  of  a  count,  who 
was  the  first  to  emancipate  herself  from  inherited 


THE  CASTLE.  93 

aristocratic  prejudices.  Finding  herself  unprovided 
for,  she  obtained  a  position  as  cashier  in  a  well-known 
bank.  There,  for  many  years,  she  proved  herself  ex- 
ceptionally faithful  and  competent,  and  has  lately 
retired  universally  praised  and  respected.  She  had, 
moreover,  set  an  example  that  has  been  followed  by 
degrees  by  many  of  her  sisters  in  rank,  who  are  now 
honorably  maintaining  themselves  as  she  did,  and  in 
many  other  positions  that  they  are  well  calculated  to 
fill. 

There  are  now,  in  many  departments  of  benevolent 
work,  ladies  belonging  to  the  nobility,  who  give  freely 
time,  interest,  and  money  to  the  various  causes  to 
which  they  have  devoted  themselves.  Others,  gifted 
with  the  pen,  employ  themselves  in  literary  pursuits 
with  most  admirable  results. 

With  many  ladies  among  the  nobility,  the  posses- 
sion from  childhood  of  social  consideration  has  pro- 
duced just  the  result  of  a  true  republican  education, 
in  frank,  natural,  cordial,  and  therefore  most  attrac- 
tive manners.  When  such  persons  become  deeply 
religiously  impressed,  they  have  a  wonderful  power 
of  influence  in  their  own  circles,  and  carry  the  glad 
light  of  loving  interest  into  many  homes  of  sorrow  or 
want.  At  their  country-seats  such  women  are,  of 
course,  of  immeasurable  value.  They  diffuse  among 
their  dependants  the  best  modern  ideas  as  to  health, 
the  management  of  children,  and  domestic  affairs,  the 
importance  of  education,  and  the  more  precious  knowl- 
edge of  the  joy  and  peace  of  a  true  Christian  life. 

One  lady,  who  has  now  passed  from  the  beauty  and 
dignity  of  her  earthly  tabernacle  to,  we  believe,  a  bet- 
ter home,  did  not  feel  herself  competent  to  minister  as 
she  would  have  wished  to  her  people,  but  empowered 


94  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

a  trusted,  experienced  Christian  servant  to  take  her 
place  in  these  labors  of  love.  A  social  gathering  was 
established  for  the  young  of  both  sexes  living  on  the 
place,  where  reading  aloud  and  simple,  innocent  amuse- 
ments were  introduced  and  superintended.  Compe- 
tent religious  teachers  were  encouraged  to  frequent 
the  cottages,  and  hold  informal  meetings,  hi  a  region 
where  the  church  was  at  a  long  distance,  and  the  cler- 
gyman inefficient  as  a  pastor.  Meanwhile  the  lady 
who  was  the  power  behind  this  active  work  would 
busy  her  own  hands  with  preparing  Christmas  gifts 
for  every  child  on  the  premises,  sometimes  from  mate- 
rials for  clothing  woven  under  her  own  roof,  and  some- 
times by  ingenious  manufacture  of  playthings  and 
articles  of  taste  that  would  become  a  humble  home. 
When  she  came  up  to  Stockholm,  she  had  a  discharged 
coachman  who  had  fallen  into  intemperate  habits  to 
look  after,  or  an  old  woman  whose  little  ornamental 
treasures  for  her  bureau  had  been  destroyed  by  a 
drunken  son  to  make  happy  by  little  vases  or  images 
that  would  replace  the  broken  ornaments,  or  some 
similar  mission  of  love.  Not  all  can  have  her  charm, 
but  many  Swedish  noble  ladies  have  the  same  in- 
terests and  occupations  Of  course  pride  and  folly 
and  selfishness  struggle  for  the  mastery,  and  gain  occa- 
sionally the  upper  hand.  An  established  hereditary 
aristocracy  is  a  dangerous  thing  for  human  nature. 

The  fixed  differences  of  rank  in  Sweden  often  put 
kindly  employers  on  the  most  free  and  friendly  terms 
with  their  servants  and  dependants,  as  it  was  of  old 
in  America  with  the  Southerner  among  the  slaves  of 
his  household.  Where  this  is  the  case,  of  course  the 
attachment  is  strong  and  lasting  between  the  employer 
and  the  employed. 


THE  CASTLE. 


95 


A  certain  degree  of  formality  in  Swedish  gentlemen 
when  talking  with  ladies  makes  their  real  character  less 
easily  discernible,  but  they  are  often  most  simple  and 
unaffected,  though  elegant  in  manner.  On  a  ceremo- 


S.    8.    CASTLE. 


nious  public  occasion  they  can  put  on  a  reserve  and 
hauteur  which  is  supposed  to  suit  such  circumstances. 
Many  noble  families  having  limited  means  bring  up 
their  families  most  simply  and  sensibly.  Baron  Louis 
de  Gen,  an  ex-prime-minister  of  distinction,  has  lately 
published,  in  his  old  age,  his  autobiography.  He  says : 

"My  mother  was  the  best  being  I  have  ever  known. 
She   was   dressed   like   a  boy  until  she  was   fourteen 


96  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

years  old,  and  knew  three  books  of  Euclid  before  she 
could  speak  plain.  Latin  she  learned  before  any  other 
foreign  language  [an  unusual  thing  in  Sweden].  My 
mother  had  fourteen  children  living  at  one  time,  —  first 
five  sons,  then  six  daughters,  then  a  son,  then  a  daugh- 
ter, and  then  a  son  again.  All  the  sons  were  taller  than 
the  father,  and  all  the  daughters  taller  than  the  mother. 
There  were  established,  well  understood,  but  unwritten 
laws  for  the  children.  If  we  did  not  break  those  laws, 
we  had  otherwise  perfect  freedom.  Certain  bounds  were 
not  to  be  passed  without  the  company  of  an  older  com- 
panion. To  neglect  the  study  hour  was  never  even  at- 
tempted. A  child  who  came  late  to  a  meal  had  forfeited 
his  share  of  any  dish  that  had  already  been  passed 
round  the  table.  In  the  morning  the  children  generally 
sat  down  before  the  appointed  time,  milk  was  poured 
into  the  deep  plate  of  each,  and  hard  brown  bread  was 
broken  into  it,  after  which  all  sat,  with  spoon  in  hand, 
until  the  clock  struck,  and  then  at  the  same  time  the 
spoons  were  carried  to  the  mouth.  At  dinners  there 
were  generally  three  courses,  but  when  times  were  hard, 
only  two.  No  one  was  forced  to  eat,  but  what  one  had 
taken  (Swedish  children  help  themselves  from  the  of- 
fered dish)  one  must  consume  to  the  last  morsel.  The 
children  had  no  tea  or  coffee  or  sugar  with  their  food, 
and  salt  only  with  eggs.  Water  was  not  to  be  tasted  at 
dinner  before  the  dessert  was  served.  One  was  offered 
every  course  twice,  unless  there  was  a  short  allowance, 
at  dessert.  Fruit  was  dealt  out  by  one  of  the  older  chil- 
dren, and  even  the  berries  were  counted.  The  oldest 
child  might  select  first  from  the  portions  prepared,  but 
the  one  who  had  made  the  division  must  be  the  last. 
Nothing  was  usually  to  be  eaten  out  of  the  dining-room, 
but  a  bit  of  hard  bread  after  the  bath.  On  birthdays 
a  glass  of  wine  was  allowed,  and  ale  at  Christmas. 
Windfalls  might  be  always  picked  up  and  eaten.  Ber- 


THE   CASTLE.  97 

ries  were  f  free '  on  certain  bushes  for  five  minutes  a 
day,  and  sometimes  for  ten  in  specially  good  years. 
When  it  proved,  under  this  law,  that  the  berries  were 
picked  in  baskets,  ripe  and  green  together,  in  hot  haste, 
the  time  was  doubled,  but  the  berries  must  be  eaten  on 
the  spot.  '  Good-morning '  and  '  good-night '  must  be 
said  to  the  parents,  or  an  excuse  must  be  sent  to  them 
for  the  failure.  When  undressed,  the  evening  prayer 
was  to  be  said,  after  which  not  a  word  was  to  be  spoken. 
To  avoid  breaking  the  letter  of  this  law,  one  stocking 
was  sometimes  kept  on  until  some  pleasant  chat  was 
finished.  When  the  hunting-horn  blew,  all  were  to  as- 
semble ,  in  the  courtyard.  The  boys  might  fight  among 
themselves  as  much  as  they  chose,  but  kicking,  biting, 
scratching,  and  striking  in  the  face  were  positively  for- 
bidden. The  rights  of  property  were  sacredly  protected. 
To  borrow  the  belongings  of  others  without  leave,  was 
not  to  be  thought  of.  Valuable  presents  were  kept  in  a 
safe  place,  and  called  '  Sunday  things,'  as  they  were 
not  to  be  used  on  any  other  day.  One  might  give  away 
only  what  one  had  found  or  made.  Christmas  presents 
were  not  to  be  'swapped'  before  midsummer.  To  one's 
brothers  and  sisters  one  might  give  a  trifle,  but  one 
must  never  receive  anything  from  the  dependants,  or 
from  a  stranger's  child,  or  accept  anything  from  persons 
out  of  the  family  without  the  direct  consent  of  the 
parents.  On  stormy  days,  books  and  engravings  were 
lent  to  the  children,  but  one  must  not  take  hold  of  '  the 
pictures'  with  the  fingers.  On  request,  one  might  al- 
ways get  a  book,  but  having  asked  for  it,  one  must  read 
it  through.  No  one  must  read  more  than  a  hundred 
pages  a  day.  Chess,  backgammon,  and  cards  were  al- 
lowed, but  no  game  was  to  be  played  for  money  or  for 
any  stake.  There  was  a  small  fixed  payment  for  every 
tooth  pulled  out,  and  about  sixpence  dispensed  to  each 
for  a  birthday,  or  to  spend  at  a  fair.  When  one  could 

7 


98  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

write  one's  name  and  read  distinctly,  one  received  a 
small  silver  coin.  Anybody  might  cry  quietly,  if  sor- 
rowful or  in  pain ;  but  screaming  was  not  permitted,  ex- 
cepting in  a  certain  room,  set  apart  for  that  purpose.  If 
those  premises  were  already  occupied  by  a  screecher,  the 
new  culprit  was  provided  with  another  howling- place. 
One  was  not  allowed  to  go  abroad  before  one  had  cured 
one's  self  of  crying  aloud.  The  children  must  never 
pass  through  the  drawing-room.  They  might  stand  at 
the  door  if  there  were  '  company '  or  music,  but  must 
not  sit  down  in  the  room. 

"The  parlor  was  really  the  most  elegant  room,  for 
in  the  drawing-room,  for  the  sake  of  the  music,  there 
were  no  curtains  or  carpet  or  pictures  not  covered  by 
glass.  In  any  room  we  were  forbidden  to  lean  against 
any  person  or  thing.  One  must  never  have  one's  foot  on 
a  chair,  and  must  always  rise  before  grown-up  people.  In 
the  house  one  must  have  clean  hands  and  dry  feet ;  out 
of  doors  one  could  do  as  one  chose  in  these  particulars. 
The  dining-room  and  the  nursery  were  the  only  places 
where  one  might  play,  excepting  in  the  corridors  on  rainy 
days.  Bows  and  wind  instruments  were  not  to  be  used 
in  the  house.  In  the  winter  the  boys  must  be  in  the 
open  air  at  least  one  hour  a  day.  When  their  every-day 
clothes  were  worn  or  torn,  they  were  mended  with  leather 
patches.  One  might  never  tease  for  what  had  been  once 
denied.  Whipping  was  never  administered  excepting 
for  obstinate  disobedience,  and  then  the  punishment  was 
promptly  given  on  the  spot.  The  usual  penalty  was  to 
forfeit  the  privilege  we  had  abused.  If  we  fell  into  the 
water,  we  were  not,  for  a  certain  time,  to  go  near  the 
water.  To  forfeit  the  dessert  was  a  common  chastise- 
ment. If  one  did  not  know  one's  lesson,  one  must  study 
until  one  did.  Praise  was  given  for  well-doing,  but  a 
caressing  never,  after  earliest  childhood.  It  was  a 
'high  day'  when  we  had  been  patted  by  'mamma.' 


THE   CASTLE.  99 

In  times  of  sickness  certain  laws  were  set  aside,  but  we 
were  never  coddled  for  small  ailments.  These  laws 
were  in  force  until  one  was  'big,'  and  that  was  ac- 
counted to  be  at  fifteen.  From  that  time  we  were 
treated  in  the  house  as  grown-up  persons,  with  the  rights 
and  duties  to  them  pertaining.  All  sacred  observances 
were  strictly  honored  in  the  family.  The  catechism  was 
to  be  learned  word  for  word.  Anything  deeper,  reli- 
giously, did  not  come  in  question  for  us,  or  any  of  the 
children  of  our  time." 

The  sons  of  the  nobility  are  often,  when  further 
advanced  in  life,  accustomed  to  habits  of  life  most 
simple  and  unpretending.  At  the  close  of  the  last 
century  three  young  officers,  pursuing  their  studies 
at  the  naval  establishment  at  Carlskrona,  occupied 
the  same  room,  and  were  waited  upon  by  a  cabin-boy, 
to  whom  they  gave  instruction,  in  return  for  his  ser- 
vices. He  brought  their  meals  to  them,  two  portions 
being  made  to  suffice  for  the  three.  If  one  of  them 
were  invited  out  to  dinner,  he  was  to  take  no  share 
of  the  food  brought  for  the  little  club.  These  three 
economical  youths  all  became  admirals  later  in  life. 

The  reader  is  not  to  suppose  that  this  is  a  full  and 
fair  picture  of  either  the  past  or  present  mode  of 
living  of  the  nobility  of  Sweden.  There  are  many 
who "  keep  up  an  old  estate  at  a  bountiful  old  rate," 
with  all  the  splendor  and  luxury  that  riches  and 
modern  appliances  can  make  possible.  In  the  city 
and  in  the  country  they  vie  in  splendor  of  dress 
and  all  appointments  with  the  millionnaire  or  the 
legalized  aristocrat  in  any  land. 

Many  of  the  most  beautiful  seats  of  the  nobility 
of  Sweden  are  in  Lodumanland,  the  province  directly 
south  of  Stockholm,  and  in  Skane,  in  the  far 


100  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

southern  portion  of  the  peninsula,  which  was  long 
an  outlying  part  of  Denmark. 

The  present  owner  of  Trolleholm,  in  Skane,  has 
written  a  book,  which  he  modestly  calls  "An  At- 
tempt to  describe  an  Estate,"  which  enables  us  to 
give  reliable  particulars  about  a  well-known  ancestral 
home,  now  admirably  restored,  as  far  as  possible,  after 
the  original  plan. 

Trolleholm  dates  back  to  1530,  in  the  time  of  Gustaf 
Vasa,  although  it  at  first  bore  another  name.  There 
are  eighty  rooms  in  the  castle.  Eighty  seems  to  be 
its  mystical  number,  for  it  stood  eighty  years  unoccu- 
pied before  the  restoration  was  begun  in  1886.  Its 
walls  are  of  red  brick,  made  from  clay  on  the  estate. 
Within,  it  is  made  comfortable  by  every  modern 
convenience,  and  fitted  up  with  the  taste  and  luxury 
that  befit  its  imposing  exterior.  Trolleholm  is  about 
fifteen  English  miles  from  the  nearest  town,  Landt- 
krona,  and  a  little  farther  from  Lund.  It  is  three 
miles  from  the  railroad-station,  and  six  from  the 
church.  With  the  necessaries  of  life  nearly  all 
supplied  from  the  estate,  a  telephone  in  the  house, 
Trolleholm  is  most  comfortable  and  retired,  but  still 
in  connection  with  the  outside  world,  though  the  phy- 
sician and  the  druggist  are  six  miles  away.  The 
estate  is  taxed  at  a  valuation  of  $1,000,000.  There 
are  some  200  farmers  or  tenants.  The  buildings  on 
the  estate  are  insured  for  about  $325,000.  There 
are  1,586  insured  cattle  and  653  insured  horses 
on  the  property.  The  milk  from  the  estate  finds 
its  market  at  a  neighboring  dairy.  The  cottagers 
had  formerly  paid  their  rent  in  day's  work,  men 
and  women  being  both  appointed  their  number  of 
days.  Accustomed  to  this  old  way  of  payment,  they 


THE   CASTLE.  101 

thought  it,  at  first,  hard  to  pay  in  grain.  They  soon 
found,  however,  that  the  new  method  was  to  their 
advantage,  and  was  managed,  in  many  cases,  to  meet 
their  rent  with  hard  cash.  In  "  hard  years "  the 
amount  of  grain  required  was  made  less. 

The  owner  was  pledged  to  put  up  all  necessary 
buildings  at  his  own  cost,  but  the  tenants  were  to 
help  with  cartage  of  materials.  The  tenant  could  hire 


OLD    TROLLEHOLM    (SKANE). 

for  twenty  years.  A  few  days'  work  was  to  be  given 
at  a  fair  price,  about  one  dollar  a  day,  when  specially 
needed.  After  a  fire  neighbors  should  help  each 
other  with  five  days'  carting,  without  pay.  The  ten- 
ants might  arrange  their  own  succession  of  crops, 
but  the  land  must  lie  fallow  every  seventh  or  eight 
year,  and  only  half  the  area  cultivated  should  bear 
ripened  grain  at  the  same  time.  The  proprietor 
insured  the  tenants'  houses.  The  buildings  are  not 
generally  placed  in  the  old  Swedish  way,  —  near  or 


102  PICTURES  OF    SWEDISH  LIFE. 

adjoining  each  other,  around  an  open  square,  —  but  are 
generally  scattered.  Destructive  fires  are  therefore 
now  rare  at  Trolleholm.  In  1816  a  girl  of  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  set  fire  to  a  house  on  the  estate.  On 
examination,  she  confessed  her  guilt.  She  had  put 
burning  turf  into  a  wooden  shoe,  covered  it  with 
straw,  and  put  it  on  the  top  of  an  old-fashioned  oven. 
No  one  knew  what  prompted  the  act.  She  was  sen- 
tenced and  beheaded. 

The  oldest  farm  buildings  are  of  oak.  In  one  case 
the  buildings  stand  solid  around  an  open  square, 
and  stretch  across  its  middle,  dividing  into  halves, 
which  communicate  by  a  wide  passage  or  gateway. 
When  the  doors  are  all  closed,  the  whole  has  a  for- 
bidding, fortified  appearance,  which  reminds  one  of 
the  necessities  of  the  old  troublous  times.  In  case 
of  the  death  of  the  present  owner  of  Trolleholm,  his 
successor  must  assume  the  contracts  made  by  him 
with  his  tenants.  The  chief  crops  from  the  farms 
are,  generally,  barley,  clover,  grass,  oats,  and  winter 
grain.  The  products  of  the  forests  at  Trolleholm  are 
not  small,  and  they  are  well  cared  for.  In  1891 
22,000  beech-trees  were  planted,  and  74,550  pine- 
trees.  The  beech-trees  are  exceedingly  profitable 
through  the  food  the  beech-nuts  provide  for  hogs, 
which  are  turned  out  in  November,  and  run  in  the 
woods  until  February.  In  good  weather  they  do 
well  and  grow  fat ;  but  if  there  is  much  snow  and 
it  is  crusted  over,  and  the  young  pigs  are  without 
care,  many  of  them  die.  The  reader  must  remember 
that  this  is  in  southern  Sweden,  but  in  the  latitude 
of  the  middle  of  Labrador. 

As  to  results  from  hunting,  there  were  killed  on 
the  Trolleholm  estate  in  1891,  18  deer,  10  foxes,  106 


THE   CASTLE.  103 

hares,  161  partridges,  3  woodcocks,  8  blackcocks,  and 
66  wild  ducks.  The  fish  in  the  ponds  are  chiefly 
tench,  pike,  crucian,  and  eels. 

The  book  to  which  we  have  referred  contains  mi- 
nute details  as  to  the  management  and  products  and 
crops  of  each  farm  on  the  estate,  and  gives  valuable 
information  as  to  what  can  be  done  agriculturally  in 
the  most  southern  and  fruitful  part  of  Sweden. 

Trolleholm,  like  many  old  castles,  has  had  its  romance 
if  not  its  ghost  story.  While  the  renowned  Tycho 
Brahe  was  pursuing  his  astronomic  researches  in  his 
underground  observatory  on  the  island  of  Hven,  his 
sister  Sophia  was  living  at  Trolleholm.  The  son  of 
its  then  proprietor 'had  brought  her  as  his  bride  to  the 
castle.  The  young  husband  died,  and  left  Sophia  to 
live  on  at  Trolleholm,  with  her  four-year-old  son. 
Sophia  had  the  tastes  of  her  brother,  colored  by  her 
own  more  fanciful  nature.  She  devoted  herself  to  the 
study  of  the  dead  languages,  chemistry,  astrology,  and 
alchemy.  It  was  her  choicest  recreation  to  visit  the 
retreat  of  the  astronomer  at  Hven.  During  a  long 
stay  there,  she  met  a  young  nobleman  from  Jutland, 
with  tastes  kindred  to  her  own.  Their  mutual  studies 
fostered  mutual  affection.  They  sought  for  gold  to- 
gether in  their  alchemic  researches,  but  found  only  love. 
They  were  betrothed,  with  the  approval  of  Tycho 
Brahe,  but  not  of  the  rest  of  Sophia's  relatives.  Study 
and  his  fair  one  did  not  long  satisfy  the  scientific  lover. 
After  a  short  period  of  perfect  bliss,  Sophia  was  "  left 
lamenting,"  while  her  fellow-student  was  pursuing  his 
mysterious  investigations  on  the  Continent.  Sophia 
waited  long  and  faithfully,  writing  Latin  love  verses 
and  hoping  for  the  return  of  her  betrothed.  Years  and 
years  went  by.  Sophia  was  now  a  middle-aged  woman. 


104  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Tycho  had  fallen  into  disfavor  at  home  and  was  living 
at  Prague.  Her  son  was  "  finishing  his  education  "  by 
a  foreign  sojourn.  Sophia,  weary  of  loneliness  and 
waiting,  resolved  to  go  to  those  who  were  nearest  to 
her  by  the  ties  of  blood.  Tycho  died,  but  she  found 
her  beloved  imprisoned  for  debt.  He  had  squandered 
in  his  experiments  the  little  gold  he  could  command, 
and  had  failed  to  find  the  secret  of  making  more 

o 

Sophia,  of  course,  enabled  him  to  be  set  at  liberty. 
Although  now  forty-six  years  of  age,  she  was  mar- 
ried to  the  beloved  of  her  youth,  and  could  well  dare 
to  promise  to  love  and  cherish  him  "in  riches  or 
poverty,  in  sickness  or  health."  No  riches  came  to 
either  of  them.  The  pawnbroker,  rather,  became  their 
familiar  acquaintance.  It  is  said  that  some  ladies, 
visiting  Sophia,  found  her  wardrobe  in  such  a  condi- 
tion that  one  of  them  secretly  by  night  sewed  one 
of  her  own  dress  waists  to  a  skirt  of  Sophia's,  that 
she  might  find  some  suitable  apparel  awaiting  her 
in  the  morning.  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  some  form 
of  the  "  Spencer,"  or  later  "  Garibaldi,"  was  then  in 
vogue,  to  make  such  an  arrangement  feasible.  It  may 
not  necessarily  have  been  poverty  that  had  caused 
Sophia's  neglect  of  matters  of  the  toilet.  Other  lit- 
erary women  have  sometimes  been  oblivious  of  such 
matters,  in  their  deep  interest  for  other  things.  It  is 
not  certainly  known  if  Sophia's  husband  ever  came 
with  her  to  Trolleholm.  He  is  believed  to  have  died 
at  Prague  in  great  poverty. 

Sophia  died  in  1643,  at  eighty-seven  years  of  age. 
The  studies  that  were  favorite  pursuits  of  her  youth 
were  the  joys  of  her  decline.  Her  son  became  the 
proprietor  of  Trolleholm  ;  and  there  the  silver-haired 
mother  bent  over  her  books  and  used  her  skilful  pen, 


THE   CASTLE.  105 

and  had  her  own  kind  of  sunshine,  even  to  the  last  of 
her  long  midsummer  day. 

As  late  as  1830,  Sophia's  grave  was  opened.  Strange 
to  say,  the  right  arm,  that  had  been  so  busy  with  book 
and  pen  and  crucible,  was  perfectly  preserved.  It  was 
a  small  delicate  hand  that  the  astonished  observers 
beheld,  —  the  hand  that  had  so  fondly  clasped  that  of 
her  betrothed,  that  had  so  unselfishly  been  given  to 
him  in  marriage,  and  had  written  Latin  verses  that 
ripe  scholars  had  been  forced  to  praise. 

Trolleholm  seems  to  have  been  a  most  healthy  place 
for  old  ladies. 

About  eighty  years  after  Sophia  Brahe's  death,  a 
little  girl  was  born  of  noble  parentage,  whose  name 
was  Vivica  Trolle.  Left  motherless  at  eleven  years  of 
age,  the  child  took  the  charge  of  her  father's  house- 
hold, and  a  maternal  care  over  two  little  ones  younger 
than  herself.  These  early  responsibilities  did  not 
break  either  the  spirit  or  the  constitution  of  little 
Vivica.  She  was  married  at  nineteen  to  a  man  of  high 
standing,  thirty-three  years  older  than  herself.  She 
so  became,  in  Swedish  phrase,  Eiksrldinnan  Trolle 
Bonde,  or  the  Cabinet  Minister's  wife,  Trolle  Bonde,  — 
for  Bonde  was  the  name  of  her  husband,  and  she 
must  retain  her  maiden  name  in  composition  with  it. 
Perhaps  Vivica  felt  old  in  consequence  of  her  pre- 
mature cares  ;  at  any  rate,  the  marriage  was  a  happy 
one.  It  lasted  twenty-four  years.  In  1770  Vivica 
came,  as  a  widow,  to  live  at  Trolleholm,  and  died  there, 
at  eighty-five  years  of  age.  She  gives  us  a  good 
example  of  a  lady  of  high  degree  in  her  own  castle  at 
the  close  of  the  last  century. 

Although  she  had  three  children  of  her  own,  Eiks- 


106  PICTURES   OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

r&dinnari  Trolle  Bonde  had  through  her  life  always 
young  relatives  about  her,  to  whom  she  could  give  the 
maternal  love  and  care  they  were  at  the  time  need- 
ing. She  is  described  in  her  old  age,  as  going  about 
her  estate  in  a  simple  little  one-seated  carriage,  while, 
her  grandchildren,  walking  or  running  beside  her,  com- 
pleted the  picture.  There  were  pleasant  greetings 
between  them  and  the  tenants  and  laborers,  and  now 
and  then  a  visit  to  a  cottage,  to  the  delight  of  all 
parties.  On  more  ceremonious  occasions  the  coach  and 
four  was  called  into  requisition.  Riding  and  driving  in 
the  free  old  way  were  to  be  expected  at  Trolleholm, 
and  a  couple  of  dozen  horses  might  be  found  in  the 
stables  at  once. 

Vivica  Trolle  Bonde  not  only  kept  up  her  library, 
but  she  read  carefully,  noting  on  a  blank  page,  when  she 
had  finished  a  book,  her  opinion  of  its  contents,  and 
indicating  her  favorite  passages,  always  showing  both 
judgment  and  taste.  Her  own  room  was  divided  by 
light  partitions  into  three  separate  parts.  Her  own  bed 
stood  in  the  central  compartment,  where  there  was  no 
window  towards  the  open  air,  but  one  into  each  of  the 
anterooms.  In  this  way  the  old  lady,  who  was  in  deli- 
cate health,  escaped  all  draughts,  and  could  at  the 
same  time,  perhaps  from  her  bed,  oversee  the  doings  of 
her  maid  through  the  window  into  the  next  compart- 
ment. We  do  not  wonder  at  the  many  "complaints  "  of 
the  old  lady,  when  we  find  that  her  bed  curtains  were 
of  a  green  watered  woollen  and  silk  material,  and  that 
the  rest  of  her  furniture  was  covered  with  the  same. 
The  aged  Vivica  was  much  addicted  to  reading  medical 
books  and  using  home-made  medicines.  Bleeding  was 
one  of  her  favorite  remedies,  her  feet  being  submitted 
by  turns  to  the  lancet.  She  records  that  once  the 


THE   CASTLE  107 

wrong  foot  was  presented  and  bled,  but  no  evil  conse- 
quences ensued. 

All  went  on  most  methodically,  then,  at  Trolle- 
holm.  "  It  was  a  house,"  says  a  contemporary,  "  where 
order  and  industry  were  not  despised,  and  the  hands 
of  the  rich  were  busy  and  accustomed  to  wise,  but 
quiet  benevolence."  There  was  early  breakfast,  then 


TYNNELSO. 

dinner  at  eleven.  On  Sunday  mornings  the  boys 
were  to  have  a  "  dram ; "  what  they  were  to  drink 
is  not  stated.  From  the  household  books  of  the  castle, 
we  learn  what  was  to  be  found  in  the  cellars  at  a  cer- 
tain time  in  Riksradinnan  Vivica's  day  :  "  Ale  and  por- 
ter and  seltzer  water,  18  demijohns  French  wine  (old), 
2  Hungarian,  5  spoiled  (?)  Portuguese  wine,  1  bottle 
wormwood  Portuguese  wine,  5  bottles  with  berries  in." 
There  was,  too,  in  the  cellar  a  barrel  with  a  lock,  in 
which  to  keep  bread  (hard  brown  bread,  of  course). 


108  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH    LIFE. 

In  her  last  years,  Riksradinnan  Vivica  was  a  con- 
firmed invalid.  She  died  in  1806.  Her  funeral  cere- 
monies were  celebrated  according  to  her  own  written 
plan,  entitled  "Order  for  my  Christian  funeral  and 
burial." 

There  is  a  long  and  full  catalogue  of  the  silver  at 
Trolleholm  in  Riksradinnan  Trolle  Bonde's  time.  From 
this  voluminous  list  we  select  a  few  items :  — 

2  ragout  spoons  (spoons  to  hold  about  two  table- 
spoonfuls). 

1  cake  spade. 

21  teaspoons  (three  had,  alas !  been  lost,  in  spite  of 
the  order  of  the  household). 

4  vegetable  dishes  (heavy). 

4  round  dishes  (heavy). 

Soup  tureen  and  cover  (heavy). 

Bought  in  1792. 

1  three-tined  fork. 

In  1788. 

1  plate  for  scorpor  (dried  biscuit). 

After  a  removal  at  a  certain  time,  some  articles  of 
clothing  that  belonged  to  Riksradinnan  Bonde  were  for- 
warded to  her.  From  the  list  we  select  the  following : 

1  polonaise,  gray  ground,  with  flowers. 

4  white  pocket-handkerchiefs. 

1  black  watered  silk  dress,  with  white  crape  sleeves. 

1  white  silk  cosaque. 

1  black  velvet  cloak,  lined  with  ermine. 

1  pair  high  cuffs  with  laces. 

1  little  cloak  lined  with  ermine. 

1  black  crape  cloak. 

1  white  silk  cloak,  trimmed  with  black  crape. 

1  white  silk  cloak  with  gray  lining. 


THE   CASTLE.  109 

Among  the  old  lady's  possessions  we  notice :  — 

1  necklace  oriental  pearls,  54  large,  34  small. 

1  diamond  ring,  1  large  diamond,  10  smaller,  10  still 
smaller,  set  as  a  star. 

Bracelet  of  469  real  pearls,  goes  eight  times  round  the 
arm,  silver  clasp. 

1  gold  snuff-box,  cost  60  ducats. 

Lavender-water  bottle,  gold,  in  a  case. 

Such  were  a  few  of  the  little  luxuries  of  a  lady  of 
the  olden  time  at  Trolleholm. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that  in  honor  of  the  two 
aged  ladies  we  have  described,  two  of  the  towers  of 
new  Trolleholm  are  named.  We  have  Sophia  Tower, 
Vivica  Tower,  and  Eva  Tower.  The  last  has  the  name 
of  the  wife  of  the  present  proprietor,  Count  Carl  Trolle 
Bonde,  ta  whose  interesting  book  we  are  indebted  for 
most  of  the  particulars  above  given. 

It  is  elsewhere  stated  that  the  inheritor  of  Trolle- 
holm may  not  marry  any  other  than  a  lady  of  noble 
birth,  and  that  the  heir  must  devote  a  fund  provided 
for  the  purpose  to  the  liberal  education  of  six  deserv- 
ing but  poor  children.  It  has  been  found  that  the 
fund  set  apart  for  this  purpose  gives  to  twelve  chil- 
dren, instead  of  six,  the  advantages  proposed  by  the 
testator. 

It  is  also  said  that  there  is  at  Trolleholm  a  genea- 
logical register  that  takes  the  family  back  to  Kagnar 
Lodbrok.  What  more  could  one  ask  of  an  ancestral 
pedigree  ? 


110  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


"WHAT'S   IN  A   NAME?" 

WITH  regard  to  surnames  in  Sweden,  extremes  meet. 
The  highest  and  the  lowest  have  none.  Oscar  II.  is 
simply  Oscar  II.,  dropping  the  Bernadotte.  The  hum- 
blest farm  laborer  is  but  Anders  or  Axel  or  Per,  while 
his  wife  is  simply  Brita  or  Anna  or  Maria.  There  may 
be  an  "  Old  Anders,"  or  a  "  Little  Axel,"  or  a  "  Lame 
Per,"  or  the  husband  in  a  cottage  may  be  "Anders 
Eriksson  "  by  name,  on  important  occasions,  as  he  is 
practically,  in  fact.  So  the  wife  may  be  "  Brita  Erics 
dotter."  These  laborers  may  also  be  called  after  the 
cottage  or  farm  where  they  live,  for  such  homes  have 
usually  their  special  names.  In  that  case  the  husband 
may  be  known  as  "  Anders  in  Botorp,"  to  distinguish 
him  from  some  other  Anders  on  the  same  estate. 
None  of  these  names  are  properly  surnames ;  but  when 
adopted  in  a  family  for  several  generations,  they  be- 
come so. 

A  step  up  and  a  step  down  brings  the  next  kind  of 
names  near  to  each  other.  The  coachman  or  the 
waiter  or  the  butler  who  has  attained  to  a  surname,  is 
called  by  that  only.  He  is  probably  "  Larsson "  or 
"  Andersson "  or  "  Petersson,"  or  some  other  name  of 
the  origin  already  suggested.  In  the  same  way,  step- 
ping down  from  the  royal  family  to  the  next  in  honor 
after  him,  the  great  scientist  or  voyager  or  poet  who 
has  become  his  country's  pride  in  his  own  day,  or  for 


AFTER    THE    FORTUNE-TELLER  S    VISIT. 


"WHAT'S   IN   A  NAME?"  Ill 

centuries  afterwards,  is  simply  Linnaeus  or  Berzelius 
or  Nordenskiold  or  Rydberg. 

When  a  man  in  humble  life  has  attained  the  dis- 
tinction of  a  surname,  and  has  passed  from  domestic 
service,  he  may  soon  have  a  distinctive  title,  which  iden- 
tifies him  in  the  community  where  he  lives.  He  may 


BREAKFAST. 


be  known  as  "  Tailor  Larsson,"  or  "  Carpenter  Eriksson," 
or  "Upholsterer  Johansson;"  and  as  such  his  banns  of 
marriage  will  be  three  times  published  in  church,  and 
as  such  his  wedding  will  probably  appear  in  the  news- 
paper, if  it  appears  there  at  all.  On  his  tombstone  the 
same  title  will  be  placed,  if  his  grave  chance  to  be 
honored  by  any  such  monument.  The  main  aisle  of  a 
certain  church,  not  far  from  Stockholm,  is  paved  with 
old  tombstones,  and  on  one  of  them  not  only  stands  the 
name  of  Barber,  but  comb  and  brush  and  shears  are 


112  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

there  scrupulously  carved,  that  even  the  unlearned 
may  not  be  ignorant  concerning  the  calling  ot  the 
deceased. 

The  rules  of  precedence  pervade  the  humbler  orders, 
as  they  do  the  highest.  A  man  who  is  a  mechanic 
knows  where  he  belongs  in  his  social  circle,  and  his 
pretensions  are  not  to  be  lightly  overlooked.  Of 
course,  the  names  ending  in  "  son  "  are  most  abundant 
in  Sweden.  In  the  directory  of  the  city  of  Stockholm 
one  twentieth  part  of  the  pages  is  taken  up  by  the 
Anderssons  and  Peterssons  and  Johanssons,  under  all 
the  variations  of  which  these  names  are  susceptible; 
and  there  are  many  such  variations  through  contrac- 
tions, and  the  leaving  out  or  doubling  of  letters.  You 
may  therefore  be  wellnigh  sure  that  every  twentieth 
Swede  you  meet  in  the  streets  of  the  capital  will  bear 
one  of  these  well-known  and  oft-repeated  names. 

The  Smiths  are  "  nowhere  "  in  Stockholm,  as  a  true 
Yankee  would  say.  Smed  (Smith)  does  not  occur  as  a 
name,  and  Smedman  has  not  half  a  page  to  himself. 
The  colors  are  poorly  represented.  There  is  but  one 
Broun  (as  the  Swedes  spell  the  word  for  color). 

The  Whites  and  the  Greens  and  the  Blacks  are  not 
at  all  represented,  though  Greenleaf,  Greenhill,  etc.  find 
a  place.  Messrs.  Blue  and  Orange  and  Scarlet  and 
Purple,  who  may  be  found  in  America,  do  not  figure 
in  Sweden. 

The  names  taken  from  trades  are  hardly  to  be  found 
in  Sweden.  There  are  in  the  Stockholm  Directory 
almost  no  names  corresponding  to  the  Turners  and 
the  Taylors,  the  Carpenters  and  the  Butchers  and 
Bakers. 

"  Well,  what  names  are  there  ? "  asks  the  puzzled 
reader.  "  Man  and  Nature  supply  them,"  is  the  answer. 


WHAT'S  IN   A  NAME? 


113 


All  sorts  of  syllables,  with  and  apparently  without 
meaning,  are  put  before  "  man."  We  have  the  Swedish 
equivalents  for  Timberman,  Bridgeman,  Heathman,  etc. 
But  Nature,  after  all,  is  the  great  provider  of  names,  as  is 
becoming  in  a  country  where  Dame  Nature  is  so  affec- 
tionately regarded  by  all  ages  and  classes  in  society. 
There  are  innumerable  names  ending  or  beginning  with 


A    PEASANT   CHILD. 


the  Swedish  correspondents  to  blossom  and  leaf  and 
branch  and  twig  and  sprig;  to  stem  and  stock  and 
stump ;  also  to  river  and  stream  and  spring  and  fount, 
mount  and  hill  and  meadow  and  dale";  special  trees 
and  humble  plants  and  flowers ;  to  bay  and  sea  and 
forest  and  grove. 

The  points  of  the  compass  in  Sweden,  as  elsewhere, 
have  their  share  of  honor  among  the  surnames,  and 

8 


114  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

old  homesteads  have  given  their  names  to  families  that 
are  living  near  the  old  spots  or  in  far  America. 

We  turn  to  the  Book  of  the  Nobility,1  "  Adels- 
kalendar."  What  do  we  find  there  ? "  Nature  is 
no  longer  the  lavish  godmother,  to  give  names  to 
the  children.  She  has  yielded  to  Mars  and  Jupiter. 
The  tokens  of  war  and  royalty  and  supremacy  now 
freely  supply  terminations  and  first  syllables,  in  all 
possible  variations  of  order,  —  the  crown,  the  star,  the 
castle,  the  shield,  the  helmet,  the  sword,  and  even  the 
hammer  now  come,  in  their  Swedish  form,  to  swell 
the  list  of  noble  names.  Among  the  flowers  the  favo- 
rites are  the  lily  and  the  rose ;  gold  and  silver  among 
the  metals,  though  iron  and  steel  have  a  place ;  and 
from  the  animal  kingdom,  the  lion,  the  tiger,  the  bear, 
and  the  falcon.  The  home,  the  castle,  the  mountain, 
with  the  family  name  preceding  or  following,  of  course 
appear,  or  a  prefix  or  suffix  that  tells  of  a  prince  or  a 
knight  or  a  noble  among  the  honored  ancestry. 

Many  of  the  Swedish  noble  families  have  names  not 
at  all  Swedish.  Some  of  these  families  have  belonged 
to  the  old  aristocracy  of  other  lands,  and  have  changed 
their  residence,  and  been  engrafted  into  the  body 
of  the  Swedish  House  of  Knights.  They  have  come 
from  the  Swedish  Baltic  Provinces  of  old,  and  from 
almost  every  other  country  of  Europe.  The  Scots  are 
here  numerously  represented.  The  Stuart,  the  Douglas, 
the  Bruce,  the  Montgomery,  the  Hamilton,  the  Sin- 
clair, etc.  have  their  home  and  their  aristocratic  legal- 
ized honors  in  Sweden  as  well  as  in  Britain. 

The  old  Northmen  had  their  fierce  way  of  appear- 
ing on  the  other  side  of  the  North  Sea  to  "  conquer 

1  Of  coarse,  de  or  von  or  ay  (the  Swedish  equivalent  for  of)  placed 
before  any  name  indicates  that  it  has  become  noble 


WHAT'S   IN  A   NAME? 


115 


and  stay,"  and  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War  there 
was  a  return  emigration  of  adventurers,  as  brave  if  not 
as  ferocious,  who  had  vindicated  their  nobility  in  the 


TYCHO   BRAHE. 

thick  of  the  fight  beside  the  Swedish  heroes  of  the 
time,  and  eventually  became  themselves  Swedes. 

But,  after  hearing  all  this,  you  come  upon  certain 
simpler  names,  —  Brahe,  Bonde,  Sture,  Trolle,  Posse, 
Puhe,  Thott,  etc.  "  What  are  these  ? "  you  ask  in  sur- 
prise. "  They  are  the  names  of  some  of  the  old, 
old,  old  Swedish  noble  families,"  may  be  the  reply. 


116  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

There  is  no  geological  tree  so  high  that  it  has  not  its 
root  somewhere  in  the  ground.  There  is  no  noble 
family  that  did  not  somewhere  spring  from  honest 
simplicity  which  came  to  honor.  These  families  date 
as  nearly  as  possible  back  to  the  time  "  when 
Adam  delved  and  Eve  span,  and  there  was  then  no 
gentleman." 

We  have  named  the  titles  that  prevail  in  the  lower 
strata  of  Swedish  society.  To  the  titles  of  a  higher 
grade  in  familiar  conversation,  surnames  give  way,  and 
shrink  out  of  sight  The  Swedes  say  that  there  is  a 
mania  for  titles  in  their  country,  and  few  men  are  sat- 
isfied to  be  simply  Mr. ,  Herr .  A  is  the  No- 
tary, B  the  Chief  of  Police,  C  the  Royal  Amanuensis, 
D  the  Court  Chamberlain,  E  the  Member  of  the 
Riksdag,  F  the  Governor,  G  the  Cabinet  Minister,  H 
the  Bishop,  I  the  Dean,  J  the  Pastor,  K  the  Wholesale 
Merchant,  L  the  Ironmaster,  and  so  on  through  the 
alphabet.  As  a  gentleman,  unless  the  friendly  "  thou" 
is  used,  is  always  addressed  in  the  third  person,  the 
repetition  of  these  titles  is  constant.  Woe  be  unto 
you,  if  you  have  happened  not  to  hear  the  title  as  well 
as  the  name  of  a  stranger  in  an  introduction  '  You 
must  use  your  invention  in  making  general  remarks, 
not  a  direct  address,  and  so  get  on  as  best  you  can, 
in  a  conversation,  till  at  last  some  one  comes  to  your 
aid,  uses  the  proper  title,  and  makes  all  smooth  for 
you. 

A  feminine  form  can  be  made  for  almost  every  title 
by  adding  "  shan  "  or  "  innan,"  or  the  like,  which  must 
be  used  in  speaking  to  the  wife  of  the  dignitary. 
There  are,  however,  some  very  high  officers  in  the 
state,  who  must  hear  their  wives  called  simply  Mrs. 
Fou,  unless  they  happen  to  be  noble  ladies,  and  have 


"WHAT'S  IN  A  NAME?"  117 

a  title  by  birth  or  through  marriage  with  a  noble- 
man. 

There  is  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  of  repeating 
titles  by  coming  into  the  more  friendly  relation  with 
strangers  that  permits  you  to  say  "  thou  "  to  them  or 
to  name  them  by  their  Christian  names.  This  springs 
from  the  old  custom  of  foster  brotherhood,  when  with 
special  observances  two  likings  became  not  only  sworn 
friends,  but  "brothers."  Then  some  drops  of  the 
blood  of  each  were  shed,  and  allowed  to  mingle,  and 
their  hearts  were  supposed  to  blend  forever,  to  beat 
in  harmony  and  love  and  self-sacrifice.  This  union 
was  often  entered  into  with  a  devotion  that  would  offer 
worldly  goods,  risk  danger,  and  even  give  the  life  for 
the  foster  brothers.  At  the  present  day  the  custom 
is  quite  a  different  thing.  It  smooths  intercourse 
in  society,  but  brother  does  not  by  any  means 
always  love  brother  in  this  artificial  and  conven- 
tional relation.  If  this  tie  is  formed  between  an 
older  man  and  a  youth,  the  young  man  calls  his 
senior  "  Farboor,"  and  the  older  gentleman  calls  the 
younger  by  his  Christian  name,  which  is  one  of  the 
privileges  of  this  brotherhood  and  sisterhood, —  as 
the  practice  prevails  among  ladies,  but  without  the 
use  of  the  word  "sister."  With  ladies  in  this  rela- 
tion, an  older  woman  is  called  "Tant;"  innumerable 
aunts  one  may  have,  and  one  must  never  by  any 
possible  slip  neglect  to  say  "Tant"  when  once  re- 
quested to  do  so.  That  would  be  a  shocking  breach 
of  the  laws  of  friendliness  and  politeness. 

You  must  never  look  askance  at  a  Swede  in  America 
because  he  has  changed  his  name,  even  two  or  three 
times,  before  he  has  been  fairly  satisfied  with  his  se- 
lection. There  is  no  shadow  with  him  of  an  alias 


118  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

that  has  left  bad  deeds  behind  it  in  the  old  country 
or  the  new.  So  the  Swede  has  seen  men  of  respec- 
tability do  at  home,  without  reproach  or  rebuke; 
so  many  noblemen  have  done  on  being  ennobled. 
Linnaeus  became  Carl  von  Linne",  and  Swedenborg's 
father  was  Bishop  Swedborg. 

The  frequency  of  the  names  ending  in  "  son,"  and  the 
prevalence  of  some  of  them,  create  great  confusion 
in  schools  and  universities,  and  even  in  the  army  and 
navy  among  the  soldiers  and  sailors.  This  difficulty 
is  often  done  away  in  the  army  by  the  use  of  the 
number  of  the  soldier,  or  by  giving  him  some  adjec- 
tive, as  a  soubriquet,  which  fits  him  appropriately, 
as  "short,"  "spry,"  "slow,"  "big,"  "proud,"  "stiff," 
etc.  This  epithet  really  becomes  practically  the 
man's  name,  whatever  he  may  have  been  called  in 
baptism  or  whatever  name  his  father  may  bear. 
Often  a  Sordic  takes  the  name  and  number  of  his 
predecessor. 

The  writer  once  heard  a  teacher,  presenting  him- 
self in  a  house  where  he  was  a  stranger,  say,  "  My 

name  is .  It  is  my  name  by  accident.  I  took  it 

in  the  seminary,  where  we  were  too  many  of  the  same 
name,  and  were  told  to  choose  another  for  ourselves. 
I  liked  this  one,  and  I  have  kept  it  ever  since."  This 
is  often  done  in  the  universities,  and  for  the  same 
reason,  —  to  avoid  confusion  among  the  students.  A 
son  may  choose  a  name  quite  different  from  his  father's 
or  even  from  his  brother's,  and  bring  no  more  disgrace 
upon  them  than  if,  in  America,  he  had  legally  changed 
his  name  to  inherit  a  fortune,  with  some  honorable 
cognomen  annexed.  An  "  old  clerical  family  "  is  not  an 
uncommon  expression  in  Sweden ;  many  such  family 
names  have  the  scholarly  terminations  "  us  "  or  "  ius." 


"WHAT'S   IN  A  NAME?"  119 

Other  families  have  modified  the  name  of  the  place 
where  their  ancestors  have  lived  in  humble  life,  to 
suit  their  own  fancy.  One  town,  with  an  uncommonly 
pleasant  roll  in  its  name,  has  given  pretty  sur- 
names to  several  families  who  have  originated  in  its 
neighborhood. 

A  great  name  in  Sweden  may  be  so  disgraced  as 
to  make  its  very  mention  a  pain,  and  a  humble  name 
may  be  so  exalted  that  it  has  universal  honor ;  t  and 
in  Sweden,  as  in  all  the  world  round,  "  a  good  name 
is  great  riches." 


120  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


A  SWEDISH  HOUSEHOLD. 

A  SWEDISH  household  is  in  many  trifling  particulars 
quite  different  from  an  American  home.  You  accom- 
pany a  Stockholm  friend  to  make  a  call  on  one  of  her 
relatives,  who,  you  have  been  privately  assured,  will 
be  most  happy  to  receive  you,  but  as  the  stranger  you 
must  pay  the  first  visit.  Standing  on  the  sidewalk, 
you  press  an  electric  bell,  beside  a  pair  of  great  doors, 
like  the  entrance  to  a  stable.  The  doors  open  gently, 
and  you  pass  under  an  archway  where  a  portress 
peeps  out  from  a  little  window,  looks  at  you,  and,  on 
inquiry,  tells  you  whether  the  person  you  seek  is 
at  home.  You  mount  the  stone  staircase  the  fire 
laws  require,  and  in  the  second  or  third  story,  or 
perhaps  the  fourth,  reach  the  landing  where  you  are 
to  stop  climbing.  A  maid  courtesies,  as  she  politely 
opens  the  door,  and  then  assists  you  to  lay  aside  your 
cloak  and  furs.  You  have  perhaps  already  learned 
to  shuffle  off  your  stiff  overshoes  without  stooping, 
and  she  puts  them  in  one  of  the  little  pigeon-holes 
provided  for  the  purpose. 

You  think  there  must  be  many  guests  in  the 
drawing-room,  as  through  the  wide-open  doors  there 
comes  no  sound.  It  is  true  there  are  many  outer 
garments  already  hanging  in  the  vestibule,  but  they 
belong  to  the  family,  and  are  always  there  when  not 
in  use.  You  enter  the  drawing-room,  and  the  lady  of 
the  house  promptly  appears,  and  very  possibly  speaks 


A   SWEDISH   HOUSEHOLD.  121 

to  you  in  English,  but  with  a  sweet  foreign  accent. 
The  air  of  the  room  is  soft  and  warm,  but  there  is 
no  sense  of  artificial  heat,  from  the  great  porcelain 
stove  that  towers,  it  may  be  in  a  corner,  almost  to  the 
ceiling.  The  double  windows  are  in,  and  the  cracks 
are  neatly  pasted  over  with  paper  strips  of  the  color  of 
the  paint.  (These  strips  are  to  be  bought  at  the 
shops,  prepared  on  the  back  like  postage-stamps.) 

It  is  plain  that  "  Shut  the  door  after  you ! "  is  not  a 
staple  command  in  this  family.  All  the  wide  double 
doors  are  open,  and  you  have  a  peep  into  a  great,  un- 
carpeted,  cheerful  dining-room,  where  plants  in  groups 
and  hanging  baskets  have  evidently  thrived  in  the 
sunshine.  On  the  opposite  side  you  look  into  a  pleas- 
ant little  lady's  sitting-room,  that  has  a  boudoir  ex- 
pression of  beauty  and  taste. 

There  is  a  wonderful  stillness  about  you.  You  can 
hardly  believe  that  the  busy  city  crowd  are  passing 
below  you,  and  that  on  the  ground  floor  of  that  very 
house  buyers  and  sellers  are  carrying  on  their  transac- 
tions in  a  fashionable  shop.  Of  course  the  building 
is  divided  laterally,  like  a  jelly-cake;  the  lowest  and 
the  highest  layers  being,  in  the  case  of  the  house,  less 
attractive  and  desirable.  The  small  attic  apartments 
of  the  building  may  be  occupied  by  a  lone  struggling 
seamstress,  or  a  poor  widow  striving  to  keep  her  little 
family  together,  with  the  tiny  den  of  some  "  Tittlebat 
Titmouse"  adjoining.  Your  hostess,  perhaps,  knows 
as  little  of  the  inmates  just  under  the  roof  as  you  do, 
though  she  has  the  key  to  the  store-room  in  the  attic 
that  belongs  to  her  suite,  and  where  she  keeps  her 
cast-off  furniture  and  her  great  chests  of  soiled  clothes 
waiting  for  the  semi-annual  "  washing." 

"  What  a  quiet  home,  and  how  charming  and  peace- 


122  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

f  ul ! "  you  say  to  your  friend,  as  you  pass  down  the 
stairway  after  your  agreeable  visit.  The  Swede  laughs, 
and  says :  "  You  would  not  say  so,  if  you  were  to 
spend  the  day  with  my  cousin."  Then  you  learn  that 
the  graceful,  dignified  mother  has  five  children  in 
three  different  schools.  The  oldest  boy  must  be  up 
before  light  all  winter,  to  get  his  breakfast  and  reach 
the  school-house  before  eight  o'clock.  There  is  a  busy 
time  among  the  maids  to  get  his  clothes  brushed,  his 
shoes  blacked,  his  books  collected,  and  the  little  man 
off,  properly  wrapped  up.  The  other  children  breakfast 
with  the  family ;  but  though  they  are  in  a  terrible  hurry 
with  their  porridge  and  milk,  they  do  not  forget  to  kiss 
their  parents  and  thank  them  for  their  food,  before 
they  start  for  school  in  their  several  directions.  The 
hungry  pupils  come  home  at  separate  times  for  lunch, 
and  perhaps  cannot  all  appear  at  the  dinner-table,  as 
there  may  be  a  music  or  gymnastic  or  slojd  (carpentry 
or  other  handiwork)  lesson  to  be  taken  at  the  dining- 
hour.  So  the  days  go  by,  with  alternations  of  stillness 
and  bustle,  to  remind  one  of  the  sudden  whirr  at  a 
Swedish  country  home,  where  a  flock  of  sparrows  fly 
down  all  at  once,  nestle  in  the  loose  sand  of  the 
walks,  quarrel  about  the  little  pits  they  have  made, 
pick  up  a  few  crumbs,  and  then  it  is  whirr !  whirr ! 
again,  and  they  are  all  off,  to  be  soon  sitting  socially 
on  the  edge  of  the  roof,  as  if  to  keep  watch  there 
were  the  only  business  of  their  lives. 

These  Swedish  households,  with  all  their  requisi- 
tions, could  hardly  go  on  at  all,  if  it  were  not  for  their 
almost  perfect  servants.  These  servants  are  engaged 
by  the  year  or  half  year.  The  wages  that  would  in 
America  pay  for  one  servant  of  the  same  capabilities 
will  pay  for  four  in  Stockholm,  and  often  in  the  coun- 


A   SWEDISH   HOUSEHOLD.  123 

try,  in  Sweden,  for  five.  It  is  the  joy  and  ambition  of 
Swedish  servants  to  excel  in  their  sphere,  and  to  con- 
tribute to  the  comfort  and  honor  of  the  family.  Here 
we  must  distinctly  adopt  "Susan  Nipper's"  distinc- 
tion between  "  permanencies  "  and  "  temporaries."  We 
are  speaking,  in  .this  wholesale  praise,  of  "  permanen- 
cies." The  floating  population  "  below  stairs  "  is  of  the 
most  flimsy  and  unreliable  order.  The  times  for  re- 
ceiving new  servants  are  the  last  of  April  and  the  last 
of  October.  Then  the  streets  of  Stockholm  would 
lead  one  to  suspect  that  some  second-hand  furniture- 
sellers,  dealing  chiefly  in  bureaus,  were  moving  their 
establishments.  Bureaus,  bureaus,  are  being  wheeled 
and  carried  in  all  directions ;  for  the  Swedish  maid 
possesses  her  own  bureau,  and  it  is  her  pride  to  have  it 
the  prettiest  she  can  possibly  afford,  with  a  looking- 
glass,  movable  or  attached,  and  some  porcelain  images 
and  photograph  frames,  to  adorn  its  white  cover,  that 
she  has  made  with  her  own  hands.  In  this  bureau 
her  clothing  is  packed  when  she  changes  her  place, 
though,  if  her  wardrobe  is  ambitious,  she  must  have  a 
supplementary  trunk  for  her  dresses. 

A  "  madame,"  in  Sweden,  is  by  no  means  the  presid- 
ing goddess  of  a  French  salon.  She  may  be  a  labor- 
er's wife,  or  a  marketwoman,  or  a  person  who  works 
by  the  day  or  at  odd  times,  and  is  "  generally  useful " 
in  a  household  in  times  of  difficulty.  She  is  then 
the  family's  "  help  madame ;"  and  a  "  help  madame  "  one 
must  have  to  get  on  comfortably  at  all.  It  may  be 
that  she  every  morning  brushes  the  clothes  and  blacks 
the  shoes,  comes  to  do  the  scouring  or  anything  else 
that  the  permanent  maids  do  not  find  it  convenient  or 
desirable  to  do  themselves.  She  is  a  valuable  outside 
retainer,  who  is  sure  to  have  her  share  of  the  good 


124  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

things  on  a  holiday  or  family  festival.  The  charges 
for  her  services  are  marvellously  small,  as  she  is  gener- 
ally too  old  or  too  much  broken  down  for  continu- 
ous work,  though  she  can  do  admirably  as  a  "  help 
madame." 1 

There  is,  in  Sweden,  a  regular  class  of  old  servants 
on  the  retired  list,  worn  out,  and  no  longer  fit  even  for 
occasional  labor.  Their  old  employers,  of  the  honor- 
able kind,  generally  look  after  them.  Two  or  three 
families,  for  whom  a  servant  has  faithfully  worked, 
often  join  to  place  her,  in  her  old  age  or  in  sickness,  in 
some  institution  where  she  can  be  well  cared  for. 

An  old  and  valued  cook,  who  had  served  for  thirty 
years  in  one  family  in  Stockholm,  was  lately  borne  to 
her  last  home.  She  had  had  a  small  annuity  left  to 
her  by  her  deceased  master,  but  his  family  did  not 
let  her  rely  upon  that  alone  during  her  long  and  dis- 
tressing decline.  She  was  placed  where  she  had  every 
care  and  comfort,  and  kindly  visited  and  cheered  as 
long  as  life  lasted.  Her  little  savings  and  income  had 
so  accumulated  that  she  had  the  mixed  pleasure  of 
making  her  will,  and  leaving  some  testimony  of  affec- 
tion for  all  her  nearest  friends  and  relatives.  One 
almost  had  about  her  the  strange  wish  that  she  could 
have  attended  her  own  funeral,  which  would  have  sat- 
isfied and  gratified  her,  even  to  the  most  minute  details. 
A  pastor  made  a  little  funeral  address  at  the  house ; 
there  were  flowers  in  abundance  on  the  coffin,  and 
streaming  rich  ribbons  that  bore  the  initials  of  mem- 

1  We  know  one  "  help  madame  "  who  will  come  to  sconr,  or  iron, 
or  make  fine  underclothing,  or  sew  a  cloth  outer  garment,  doing  all 
things  equally  well,  and  think  herself  well  paid  for  thirty  cents  a  day. 
She  and  her  husband  have  no  children,  and  are  laying  up  money  to 
their  great  satisfaction. 


A  SWEDISH   HOUSEHOLD.  125 

bers  of  the  family  of  which  she  had  so  long  been  a 
humble  member,  and  such  golden  words  as  "  In  re- 
membrance of  many  years  of  faithful  service,"  "  With 
affectionate  regret,"  etc.  There  were  carriages  to  the 
grave  for  all  who  would  use  them,  and  a  lunch  after- 
wards for  the  near  friends,  in  a  private  room  at  a  res- 
taurant, where  hymns  were  sung  and  the  deceased  was 
affectionately  remembered,  as  well  as  refreshments  par- 
taken of  and  funeral  bonbons  (in  black  papers,  adorned 
with  sacred  emblems)  distributed,  to  be  carried  away 
in  memory  of  the  occasion. 

It  was  an  honored  close  to  a  faithful  life;  but  it 
would  have  pleased  the  departed  even  more  to  have 
known  that  she  was  missed  in  the  household  that  had 
once  been  her  home,  and  that  the  frequent  visits  to 
her  bedside  were  a  felt  loss. 

In  many  families  the  maids  are  allowed  to  sew  for 
themselves  all  the  time  that  they  can  get  from  their 
positively  necessary  work  on  Monday.  From  Christ- 
mas to  the  6th  or  13th  of  January,  the  same  privi- 
lege is  often  given  to  them. 

There  is  no  Monday  morning  in  a  Swedish  house- 
hold, in  the  sense  "  that  there  is  no  luck  about  the 
house  all  on  a  washing-day."  Washing  is  in  some 
homes  a  half-yearly  festival,  and  in  others  it  occurs 
once  in  three  months.  Washing  there  seems,  for  the 
time,  the  business  and  purpose  and  object  and  end  of 
the  establishment;  women  from  outside  and  women 
from  inside  consort  together  for  the  general  good,  to 
the  general  confusion  and  general  discomfort  of  the 
otherwise  orderly  home.  This  is,  of  course,  in  the 
country ;  and  to  the  country  we  will  go  with  our  Swed- 
ish household,  for  there  they  are  sure  to  find  them- 
selves en  masse  by  the  middle  of  June.  It  may  be 


126  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

they  have  a  landed  estate,  or  a  hired  home  for  the  hot 
weather,  or  "go  to  Grandmamma's,"  which,  of  course, 
the  children  think  is  best  of  all.  If  summer  quar- 
ters are  hired,  a  large  furnished  villa  may  be  obtained 
for  the  equivalent  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
with  a  row-boat  and  bath-house  possibly  included,  as 
well  as  a  steamboat-landing ;  for,  of  course,  there  must, 
if  possible,  be  water  to  brighten  the  scene  and  heighten 
the  joy.  When  means  are  limited,  city  people  will  con- 
tent themselves  with  the  simplest  accommodations  in- 
side the  house,  spending  their  time,  and  even  taking  all 
their  meals,  in  the  open  air,  —  unless  there  is  a  pouring 
rain,  which  seldom  occurs,  as  drought  is  the  worst 
enemy  of  the  Swedish  agriculturist. 

If  our  family  are  at  "Grandmamma's,"  all  will  go 
on  in  the  good  old-fashioned  way.  There  will  be  in 
one  of  the  long  low  outlying  buildings  all  proper  ar- 
rangements for  a  Swedish  laundry,  boiler  and  lye-vat, 
and  a  landing  by  a  lake  or  stream,  where  the  clothes 
can  be  rinsed  and  beaten,  then  switched  backward  and 
forward  in  the  water,  then  beaten  and  boxed  again, 
as  if  attacked  by  the  spirits  of  vengeance  that  have 
abandoned  the  school-room.  It  is  a  charming  sight  to 
see  the  starting  for  the  rinsing-premises  at  such  a 
country  home.  A  long  wagon,  with  high  outward- 
sloping  openwork  sides,  is  rilled  with  monster  tubs, 
full  of  the  victims  to  be  beaten ;  while  women  in  gay 
head-kerchiefs  are  perched  among  them,  peeping  out 
through  the  gratings  like  tropical  birds  in  Brobdignag 
cages.  The  unwieldy  oxen  hear  some  mysterious 
words,  and  lunge  away  slowly,  —  so  slowly  that  a 
photographer  would  have  no  trouble  in  taking  the 
pretty  picture. 

The  old-fashioned  garden  soon  bears  new  fruit.     On 


A   SWEDISH   HOUSEHOLD. 


127 


each  side  the  long  central  walk,  covered  six  inches 
deep  with  loose  gravel,  the  gooseberry  bushes  are  cov- 
ered with  bright  kerchiefs  and  aprons,  of  every  hue 
of  the  rainbow,  —  the  six  months'  supply  of  nobody 
knows  how  many  maids,  not  to  speak  of  the  ladies  of 
the  household.  In  the  grove,  enough  great  white  ban- 
ners are  flapping  to  proclaim  peace  to  all  the  world. 
One  must  have  a  goodly  supply  of  linen,  it  is  plain,  to 


WASHING. 


follow  old-fashioned  ways  in  Sweden.  Our  city  family, 
moved  to  the  country,  would  hardly  be  recognized  now, 
at  the  first  moment,  by  their  nearest  town  associates, 
Dress,  interests,  and  tone  of  thought  are  all  changed. 
The  little  boy  who  last  month,  when  asked  by  politi- 
cally disposed  playmates  whether  he  was  a  free  trader 
or  a  tariff  man,  not  understanding  the  terms,  simply 
answered,  "I  am  not  either,  I  am  a  count,"  is  now 
exceedingly  noisy  when  shut  into  the  house  on  a  rainy 


128  PICTURES   OF  SWEDISH  LITE. 

day.  "  Hush,  child  ! "  says  the  father,  who  is  trying  to 
read.  "  I  am  not  to  blame  for  the  noise,"  says  the  boy, 
boldly ;  "  I  am  fifteen  workmen."  So  much  for  a  few 
days  in  the  June  fields  with  the  laborers.  He  will  eat 
no  cake  now.  "Workmen  do  not  eat  cake,  thanks, 
Countess,"  is  his  reply  to  his  mother,  when  the  dainty 
is  offered. 

Pea-soup  on  Thursday,  cold  sour  milk  for  dessert  on 
any  day  or  every  day,  or  lukewarm  small  pancakes, 
eaten  wholesale  with  sugar  and  preserves,  are  all  favor- 
ites with  the  children.  And  what  picking  there  is  of 
the  abundant  wild  strawberries,  which  Swedes  will 
insist  are  better  than  their  garden-raised  big  sisters. 
There  are  blueberries  later,  of  course,  and  then  come 
the  red  bilberries  (lingon),  not  always  ripe  before  the 
children  must  be  again  in  the  school-room.  Tho  gar- 
den raspberries  are,  in  their  season,  fine  and  abundant, 
and  the  raspberry  of  the  far  North  (Rubus  arcticus)  has, 
perhaps,  the  most  delicious  taste  of  all  the  small  fruits. 
Fruit  we  say  for  berries,  but  Swedes  do  not.  The  cook, 
returning  from  market,  makes  the  excuse,  "  I  could  not 
get  any  fruit  to-day,  and  so  I  bought  berries,"  as  she 
would  say  another  time,  "There  was  no  fish  to  be 
bought,  and  so  I  took  fresh  herring."  Cherries,  even 
the  best  of  them,  are  reckoned  with  the  berries.  The 
Swedish  apples  do  not  compare  with  the  American 
apples,  even  the  imported  ones  that  are  sold  in  Stock- 
holm, though  the  Astracan  apple,  which  is  translucent 
in  part  or  wholly,  is  greatly  prized  by  the  Swedes. 

Seeing  unusually  fine  fruit-trees  about  a  cottage, 
we  were  told  that  the  success  was  accidental.  The 
thrifty  country  couple  had  engaged  to  sweep  the 
public  square  of  a  neighboring  little  town  after  a 
great  market-day.  They  prudently  took  home  the 


A   SWEDISH   HOUSEHOLD. 


129 


sweepings  to  enrich  their  lot  of  land,  and  lo!  in  those 
sweepings  were  the  seeds  that  had  sprung  up  to 
make  their  productive  and  much  praised  orchard 
the  best  in  all  the  region. 

In  the  country  one  rarely  needs  a  doctor;  nature 
and  home  remedies  generally  effect  a  cure  for  all 
indispositions.  In  the  city  the  doctor  for  the  house- 
hold is  generally  engaged  by  the  year ;  he  makes  out 
no  bill,  but  you  honestly  send  him,  in  a  sealed  en- 
velope, what  you  think  right,  according  to  your  cir- 
cumstances, —  not 
always  an  easy  mat- 
ter to  decide,  with- 
out consulting  your 
friends  experienced 
in  similar  matters  in 
Sweden.  Some  one 
has  defined  such  a 
family  physician  as 
"a  person  who  can 
tell  you  to  what  spe-  THE  BARNYARD. 

cialist  you  should  ap- 
ply." To  specialists  in  those  days,  one  often  must  go. 
A  family  of  ten  may  report  having  employed  five  spe- 
cialists during  a  year  for  its  members,  beside  the  occa- 
sional visits  required  of  the  family  physician.  There 
may  be  peculiar  nervous  symptoms,  —  thus  people 
begin  to  whisper  about,  and  advise  a  hypnotist.  There 
may  be  mysterious  causes  of  weakness  and  suffering 
that  nobody  but  Dr.  Westerlund  can  find  out ;  so  to 
Dr.  Westerlund  at  Enkoping  the  patient  goes,  and,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  has  his  difficulties  cleared  up,  his 
pains  lessened,  and  often  a  perfect  cure  effected.  Dr. 
Westerlund  has  a  large  head,  a  large  heart,  wide 

9 


130  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

knowledge,  and  a  large  experience,  increased  daily 
by  seeing  scores  of  patients,  who  come  to  him  from 
far  and  near.  There  is  hardly  a  man  in  Sweden  who 
has  more  grateful  affection  lavished  upon  him,  or  who 
better  deserves  it.  To  poor  and  rich,  high  and  low, 
he  gives  equal  attention  and  interest,  and  prescribes 
for  all  with  the  same  sound  judgment  and  penetrating 
skill. 

There  are  few  families  in  Stockholm  who  have 
what  the  Americans  call  "  a  pastor."  The  relation 
between  the  clergymen  and  their  parishioners  is  more 
official  and  clerical  than  pastoral.  To  the  large  city 
churches  there  are  always  five  or  six  clergymen  at- 
tached, with  different  grades  of  authority  and  social 
consideration ;  but  they  do  not  suffice  for  friendly 
home  intercourse  among  such  an  immense  number 
of  parishioners  as  usually  falls  to  their  share.  A 
parish  may  have  twenty-five  thousand  members,  and 
an  immense  territorial  extent.  The  necessary  official 
functions  in  church,  with  the  baptisms,  weddings, 
and  funerals  besides,  the  certificates  of  removals  from 
parish  to  parish,  and  other  purely  business  papers, 
keep  them  very  busy,  not  to  speak  of  preparing  ser- 
mons, and  giving  yearly  courses  of  public  instruction 
to  the  candidates  for  confirmation.  It  is  hardly  to  be 
wondered  at  that  such  a  thing  as  a  pastor  who 
knows  his  people  and  their  individual  spiritual  wants 
is  rarely  to  be  found  in  the  cities  of  Sweden. 

The  poor  and  people  in  humble  life  often  look  up 
to  the  parish  clergymen  as  too  far  above  them,  offi- 
cially and  socially,  to  be  troubled  about  the  difficulties 
and  temptations  or  needs  of  their  insignificant  indi- 
vidual souls.  If  some  clerical  service  is  absolutely 
necessary,  they  sometimes  approach  him  with  a  defer- 


A   SWEDISH   HOUSEHOLD.  131 

ence  that  amounts  to  abject  servility.  There  are, 
however,  warm-hearted,  wide-awake  city  pastors  in 
Sweden,  lovers  of  the  poor,  and  meek  disciples  of 
their  Master,  who  are  known  in  the  tumble-down 
houses  of  the  outskirts  or  the  attics  of  the  crowded 
streets,  who  visit  the  sick  and  suffering,  not  officially 
but  as  fellow-men,  with  a  heart  for  all  who  need 
or  who  suffer  and  sin.  Such  men  have  a  love  and 
a  veneration  that  knows  no  bounds.  No  man  may 
call  them  perhaps  bishop  or  archbishop,  but  the 
angels  have  probably  for  them  some  name,  higher 
and  nobler,  that  they  may  some  day  be  astonished  to 
know. 

Even  for  the  households  of  the  comfortable  and 
most  prosperous,  there  may  be  some  clergyman  who 
stands  to  them  in  the  relation  of  a  true  pastor,  not 
because  they  are  locally  his  parishioners.  He  may 
be  a  long-tried  friend  or  relative.  Their  children  may 
have  been  confirmed  and  led  in  the  better  path  under 
his  instructions.  In  some  way,  perhaps,  —  they  have 
never  thought  to  consider  how  or  why  —  there  has  a 
deep,  true  relation  grown  up  between  them ;  and  to 
him  they  turn  in  sorrow,  and  his  true  prayers  they 
trust  they  shall  hear  beside  their  dying  bed.  Such 
a  friend,  such  a  clergyman,  is  the  priceless  treasure 
of  many  a  Stockholm  household. 


132  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


THE  SWEDISH  LANGUAGE. 

THOSE  learned  gentlemen,  Philologus  and  Gramma- 
ticus,  will  find  nothing  for  them  in  this  chapter. 
They  who  with  their  well-appointed  equipages  roll 
along  the  king's  highway,  do  not  care  to  know  how 
some  modest  pedestrian  may  find  a  humble  by-path 
to  their  common  destination. 

In  polite  Paris,  one  can  well  manage  with  "  the 
French  of  Stratford  Atte  Browe."  A  hash  from 
school  days,  of  Silvio  Pellico,  Tasso,  and  Caesar,  with 
a  few  readily  learned  gestures,  can  make  sight-seeing 
almost  at  once  easy  in  Italy.  For  the  traveller  in 
Sweden,  the  case  is  quite  different.  In  most  instances 
this  new  northern  land  lies  before  him  terra  incognita, 
but  for  a  few  familiar  old  geographical  landmarks, 
and  the  people  are  speaking  an  unknown  tongue. 

The  very  domestic  animals,  expressing  themselves 
to  each  other  in  the  time-honored  bark  or  mew  or 
cackle,  soon  let  the  sociable  foreigner  appreciate 
that  they  do  not  understand  a  word  he  is  saying. 
"  Whoa  "  is  positively  nothing  to  the  horse ;  it  must  be 
"  Pr-r-r-roo,"  before  he  will  slacken  his  pace  at  your 
command. 

All  this  is  but  a  passing  stage  of  discouragement. 
The  stranger  soon  finds  "  his  open  sesame "  for  the 
Swedish  labyrinth,  and  can  make  his  way  comfort- 
ably if  not  rapidly.  He  discovers,  to  his  great  satis- 
faction, that  there  are  whole  lists  of  words,  relating 
to  the  necessities  and  ordinary  circumstances  and 


THE   SWEDISH   LANGUAGE.  133 

surroundings  of  life,  that  are  almost  the  same  in 
Swedish  as  in  English.  They  have  simply  undergone 
some  changes,  as  of  dress,  that  at  first  prevent  their 
being  recognized.  The  traveller  will  soon  be  able  to 
say  all  that  he  must  say,  though  he  will  be  abrupt  in- 
stead of  courteous,  and  taciturn,  even  if  he  be  ordinarily 
loquacious. 

As  to  pronouncing  Swedish  correctly  and  without  a 
foreign  accent,  that  is  not  even  to  be  dreamed  of. 
The  English-speaking  stranger  knows  he  will  never 
hit  precisely  the  pleasing  sounds  of  the  Swedish 
vowels,  so  he  simply  does  the  best  he  can  at  once,  and, 
being  met  politely  in  his  modest  efforts,  he  forgets  his 
peculiarities,  if  his  hearers  have  not  always  the  same 
good  fortune. 

Swedish,  well  spoken  by  a  person  of  culture,  sounds 
much  like  "  the  sweet  Tuscan."  Indeed  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  two  languages  is  so  similar  that  Swedes 
have  no  difficulty  in  making  themselves  understood  in 
Italian,  as  soon  as  they  have  mastered  a  smattering 
of  the  language.  After  a  few  weeks  spent  in  Eome, 
a  Swede  will  shop  and  see  sights  and  hear  preaching 
most  satisfactorily  to  himself,  and  to  the  astonishment 
of  travellers  from  the  Western  world. 

To  learn  to  speak  Swedish  elegantly  is  a  most  dif- 
ficult attainment  for  a  foreigner.  The  Swedes  allow 
themselves  certain  irregularities  and  inaccuracies  and 
short  cuts  in  conversation,  that  must  not  at  all  appear 
in  writing.  Just  when  and  where  to  be  slipshod,  is 
a  lesson  hard  to  learn.  When  you  think  you  have 
been  doing  the  thing  admirably,  you  have  been  simply 
inelegant  and  ungrammatical.  When  you  have  tried 
to  be  nice  and  definite  in  expressing  your  favorite 
opinions,  you  have  very  probably  been  pedantic  and 


134  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

bookish.  It  is  as  well  to  throw  self  overboard  once 
and  for  all,  and  enjoy  intercourse  with  your  fellows, 
your  far-off  cousins  in  the  North,  coming  as  nearly 
heart  to  heart  with  them  as  they  will  let  you. 

Every  province  of  Sweden  has  its  own  peculiarities 
of  pronunciation,  its  local  words,  and  its  special 
privileged  inaccuracies.  These  differences  make  almost 
a  different  language  in  Dalecarlia,  and  of  course  the 
Lapps  have  their  own  tongue.  It  is  contended  that 
hi  Sodermanland  the  best  Swedish  is  spoken;  while 
Stockholm,  lying  half  in  that  province  and  half  in 
Upland,  has  its  own  "cockney "  shortcomings. 

Just  now  Sweden  is  in  a  transition  period  with 
regard  to  spelling.  In  this  respect  a  revolution  is  in 
progress,  amounting  almost  to  anarchy.  Books  are 
printed  in  the  new  way  or  ways  of  spelling,  to  the 
horror  of  the  conservative.  The/  is  made  v  in  all  words 
where  it  has  the  sound  of  the  latter  letter ;  for  instance, 
af  meaning  of  will  be  av,  etc.  We  will  not  enter  fur- 
ther into  these  proposed  and  in  some  cases  nearly  es- 
tablished changes.  They  do  not  affect  the  stranger,  but 
are  rather  to  his  advantage.  When  the  residents  of  a 
country  cannot  agree  to  spell  in  the  same  manner,  the 
unconscious  slips  of  the  foreigner  are  the  more  easily 
passed  over. 

It  is  well  worth  while  to  learn  to  read  the  Swedish 
language,  to  enjoy,  in  the  original,  its  rare  treasures  of 
poetry,  which  lose  astonishingly  even  in  the  best 
translation. 

The  works  of  Tegner,  Euneberg,  ^.Rydberg,  Snoil- 
sky,  and  many  other  writers,  should  be  read  as  they 
were  written,  to  be  truly  appreciated.  It  is  not  at 
all  a  difficult  thing  to  learn  to  read  Swedish.  At 
its  lowest  value,  this  is  an  innocent  amusement  for 


THE   SWEDISH  LANGUAGE.  135 

stay-at-home  Americans,  and  gives  them  a  key  to  much 
pleasant  and  profitable  reading  that  would  be  other- 
wise inaccessible.  A  Swedish  book  can  easily  be 
puzzled  out,  with  the  help  of  a  dictionary;  and  the 
grammar  will  make  itself,  in  the  reader's  mind,  as  he 
goes  on.  As  to  the  pronunciation,  with  the  flood  of 
Swedish  immigrants  constantly  pouring  into  the  Ameri- 
can ports,  there  can  hardly  be  even  a  small  town  in  the 
country  where  there  is  not  some  Swede  who  will  be 
glad  to  give  the  pleasant  sounds  of  his  native  tongue 
to  an  interested  student. 

A  little,  even  a  very  little,  knowledge  of  Swedish  is  of 
inestimable  value  to  the  traveller  in  Sweden.  He  will 
be  glad  of  every  word  he  has  learned  at  home  or  on  the 
journey  to  Scandinavia.  To  familiarize  such  possible 
tourists  with  the  names  of  Swedish  kings  and  Swedish 
places,  we  have  given  them  as  they  are  used  in  Sweden. 
The  reader  who  never  means  to  visit  Sweden  must 
excuse  us  for  the  liberty  that  seems  to  have  been 
taken  with  the  well-known  "  Gustavus  Adolphus," 
"  Charles  XII.,"  and  many  other  great  men,  who  here 
appear  under  the  names  by  which  they  are  almost 
idolized  in  their  native  land. 

The  Swedish  vocabulary  for  the  world  of  ideas  or 
the  processes  of  thought  is,  in  general,  more  like  the 
German  than  the  English.  It  is  like  the  German,  too, 
in  its  facilities  for  the  composition  of  words.  What 
would  otherwise  be  a  whole  sentence  is  often  expressed 
in  Swedish  by  a  single  word,  —  a  long  one,  to  be  sure, 
but,  slung  out  effectively,  it  has  the  power  of  condensed 
thought.  Such  a  word  may  be  most  imposing  for 
persons  easily  so  impressed,  when  pronounced  slowly, 
as  the  title  of  some  pompous  dignitary.  On  the  other 
hand,  one  or  two  short  syllables  may  express  in 


136  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Swedish  an  idea  for  which  most  other  languages  have 
no  single  corresponding  word.  Where  an  American 
might  say,  colloquially,  "  in  the  nick  of  time,"  "  the 
very  thing,"  "just  to  the  point,"  "  done  to  a  T,"  "  It  served 
him  right,"  "  He  got  what  he  deserved,"  "  It  just  fitted," 
"  I  had  exactly  enough,"  "  It  was  quite  satisfactory," 
etc.,  the  simple  Swedish  word  "  lagom"  may  describe 
the  thing  or  the  act,  as  meeting  all  requisitions.1 

There  are  other  words  that  are  not  used  in  the 
same  sense  in  English  as  in  Swedish,  because  in  the 
latter  language  they  represent  customs  peculiar  to  the 
North.  To  nod,  nicka,  means  generally  a  little  bow- 
ing of  the  head  with  a  friendly  glance  or  smile,  which 
seems  to  say  to  a  friend  in  social  gathering,  "  There 
you  are ! "  or  "  We  are  having  a  nice  time  together,"  etc. 
To  "  pat "  a  person  has  in  English  a  little  condescen- 
sion in  the  act.  In  Swedish  it  is  an  authorized  ex- 
pression of  affection  or  kindly  interest.  A  sister 
meeting  a  brother  after  an  absence  will  kiss  him,  then 
lay  her  head  on  his  shoulder ;  and  then  he  lays  his 
head  on  hers,  then  she  pats  him  on  the  back,  and  he 
returns  the  caress.  A  little  pat  is  a  caress,  and  yet  is 
allowable  towards  a  comparative  stranger  met  under 
circumstances  not  ceremonious.  Natt  means  not  only 
neat,  in  our  ordinary  sense  or  in  praise,  as  a  "neat 
speech,"  but  trim,  tidy,  and  attractive ;  or  it  may  be 
used  almost  as  a  diminutive,  to  intimate  that  a  thing  is 
pretty,  but  only  on  a  small  scale. 

1  There  are  words  for  the  old  man  and  the  old  woman,  "  gubben  " 
and  "  gumman,"  that  are  used  familiarly  and  affectionately  sometimes 
between  married  couples,  in  a  matter-of-fact  way  by  uneducated  people, 
and  half  contemptuously,  in  referring  to  the  old  man  or  old  woman 
when  they  or  their  near  relatives  are  not  present.  One  never  asks  of  a 
daughter  about  her  father,  "  How  is  gubben  7  "  A  visitor  may,  though, 
perhaps  say,  "  I  saw  only  gubben,"  etc. 


THE   SWEDISH   LANGUAGE.  137 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  word  which  is  in  Eng- 
lish derived  from  two  Latin  words  has  been  by  the 
Swedes  composed  from  two  words  of  their  own.  "  Per- 
secute," for  instance,  is  in  Swedish  forfolja,  from  for, 
for,  and/67/a,  to  follow. 

In  Swedish,  as  hi  other  languages,  there  are  words 
that  have  arisen  from  a  wrong  conception  of  a  thing, 
and  by  their  accepted  use  strengthen  and  perpetuate 
that  wrong  conception.  You  hear,  for  instance,  a 
Swede  say  something  about  God's  service.  You  natu- 
rally think  of  the  whole  duty  of  man  towards  his 
Maker.  He  goes  on  with  what  he  is  saying,  and  you 
find  that  he  means  the  celebration  of  public  worship. 
You  suddenly  remember  that  you  have  heard  the  ex- 
pression "Divine  service"  from  your  childhood,  and 
have  never  before  quarrelled  with  it.  The  services  of 
the  church  have  meant  to  you,  simply  and  wholly, 
public  worship,  as  if  the  church  had  no  other  service 
to  render  to  the  Creator. 

For  family  relationships,  the  Swedish  has  most 
convenient  expressions.  Mor  is  a  most  common  abbre- 
viation for  moder,  mother ;  mormor  is  maternal  grand- 
mother. Far  is  the  abbreviation  for  fader,  father; 
farmer  is  paternal  grandmother.  So  farfar,  morfar, 
morbror,  mother's  mother,  farbror,  etc. 
.  Swedish  words  that  do  not  resemble  their  English 
corresponding  expressions  are  often  like  the  Scotch,  as 
barn,  bairn  ;  kolt,  kilt ;  till,  till  (for  "  to  ")  ;  gang,  gang ; 
Icyrka,  kirk  or  church.  Scott's  novels  give  us  many  of 
these  words.  We  find  them  especially  hi  "  The  Pirate," 
as  the  scene  of  the  book  is  laid  at  the  stopping-places 
of  the  Northmen  en  route  for  Iceland. 

The  Swedish  language  is  rich  in  proverbs ;  and  here 
Svea  shows  again  her  relationship  to  Britannia  and 


138  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Columbia.  They  have  many  of  the  same  family  say- 
ings, indicating  their  family  tendencies,  tastes,  and 
principles. 

We  have  quite  literally  in  Swedish,  for  example :  — 

The  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire. 

No  rose  without  its  thorn. 

Better  late  than  never. 

Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot. 

You  must  not  look  a  gift  horse  in  the  mouth. 

Don't  buy  a  pig  in  a  poke. 

You  must  creep  before  you  walk.     Etc. 

In  other  proverbs  there  are  slight  variations  as  they 
are  used  by  Svea's  children,  as :  — 

When  the  cat  is  away,  the  rats  dance  on  the  table. 
A  new  broom  sweeps  well,  but  an  old  one  is  best  for 
the  corners. 

Little  porringers  have  their  ears  too. 

One  bird  in  hand  is  better  than  ten  on  the  roof. 

He  who  comes  first  to  the  mill,  grinds  first. 

Like  children  play  best. 

Abroad  is  good,  but  home  is  better.    Etc. 

Sometimes  the  same  idea  is  conveyed  by  a  Swedish 
proverb  as  in  an  English  one,  but  the  image  chosen  is 
different :  — 

The  apple  does  not  fall  far  from  the  tree. 

As  the  old  sing,  so  the  young  chirp. 

Every  cake  seeks  its  match. 

Don't  shout  before  you  are  across  the  stream. 

What  comes  with  wrong,  goes  with  sorrow.    Etc. 

The  following  proverbs  are  more  specially  Swedish, 
though  their  counterparts  may  be  found  in  other 
languages :  — 


THE  SWEDISH  LANGUAGE.  139 

The  flying  bird  gets  something;  the  sitting  bird 
nothing. 

Self  is  the  best  servant. 

A  lazy  man  raises  poor  cabbage. 

The  child  acts  in  the  village  as  he  has  learned  at  home. 

Where  wine  goes  in,  wit  goes  out. 

It  is  better  to  bend,  than  to  bump  against  the  doorway. 

Good  will  draws  the  load  to  the  village. 

He  who  saves  something,  has  something. 

Fine  every  day,  no  better  on  a  holiday. 

Everybody  likes  his  own  water  gruel. 

When  the  stomach  is  satisfied,  the  food  is  bitter. 

You  cross  the  river  to  fetch  water. 

Small  wounds  and  poor  parents  should  not  be  despised. 

The  pitcher  goes  so  long  to  the  well  that  it  is  broken 
at  last.  (Spoken  by  Gustaf  Adolf,  of  his  own  career,  — 
a  fulfilled  prophecy.) 

Great  in  words,  little  in  the  world. 

Many  mouths  make  an  empty  dish. 

To  read  and  not  know,  is  to  plough  and  not  sow. 

That  which  is  eaten  from  the*  pot  never  comes  to  the 
platter. 

A  lazy  fellow  runs,  rather  than  go  back  twice. 

The  new  bucket  is  always  white ;  but  when  it  is  old,  it 
is  like  the  others. 

The  Swedish  language  not  only  has  its  own  wealth 
of  proverbs ;  it  has  its  current  sayings  and  choice  quo- 
tations from  other  languages.1  From  the  Latin:  — 

The  fatherland  is  where  it  is  good  to  be. 
Epaminondas  never  took  his  wife  abroad  with  him. 
The  greatest  right  is  often  the  greatest  wrong. 
When  two  do  the  same,  it  is  not  always  the  same.   , 
A  letter  blushes  not. 
Shoemaker  stick  to  your  last.     Etc. 

1  The  quotations  are  taken  from  a  Swedish  book,  "Bevingada 
Ord"  (Winged  Words),  by  Arvid  Arnfeldt. 


140  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

When  a  Latin  proverb  is  used  in  Sweden  by  a  lady, 
it  is  always  as  translated  into  the  Swedish.     Latin  is 
rarely  studied  by  Swedish  girls,  as  it  is  not  the  foun- 
dation of  their  own  language. 
From  the  Greek :  — 

Plato  is  dear  to  me,  but  truth  is  dearer. 
We  do  not  live  to  eat,  but  eat  to  live. 
One  hand  washes  the  other. 
We  know  the  lion  by  the  claw.     Etc. 

From  the  German :  — 

The  fifth  wheel  to  a  wagon. 
To  come  onto  the  black  list. 
Knife  without  blade  or  handle.  Etc. 

From  the  French : 

Noblesse  oblige. 

Nous  avons  chang£  tout  cela. 

Tous  les  gens  sont  bons,  hors  les  ennuyeux. 

Embarras  de  richesse. 

Les  extremes  se  touchent.     Etc. 

From  the  English :  — 

My  house  is  my  castle. 
Frailty,  thy  name  is  woman. 
Every  inch  a  king. 
Food  for  powder.    Etc. 

From  the  Spanish :  — 
To  fight  with  windmills.1 

1  The  Swedish  language,  like  all  others,  is  rich  in  quotations  from 
its  own  great  authors,  that  have  been  so  incorporated  into  common 
speech  that  one  hears  them  from  the  laborer  in  the  cottage,  as  well 
as  from  the  King  on  his  throne,  both  perhaps  equally  unmindful  of 
the  source  from  which  they  are  derived. 


THE  SWEDISH  LANGUAGE.  141 

The  words  ending  in  "  sion  "  and  "tion  "  in  Swedish 
generally  have  about  the  same  signification  as  in  Eng- 
lish or  French.  One  must  not,  however,  conclude  that 
the  familiar  words  have  always  in  Swedish  a  meaning 
similar  to  the  English. 

You  may  see  in  a  window  "  Rum ! "  Do  not  suppose 
that  this  is  an  invitation  to  the  drunkard  to  enter  and 
take  his  dram.  Quite  the  contrary  !  It  is  simply  an 
announcement  that  within  there  are  rooms  to  be  let. 
A  condition  is,  in  Sweden,  a  place ;  a  situation  is  very 
frequently  that  of  a  private  tutor.  Interesting,  intres- 
sant,  has  often  the  signification  which  we  might  give 
in  saying,  "A  certain  damsel  tried  to  make  herself  look 
interesting."  If  you  were  to  remark  that  a  young  girl's 
manner  was  simple,  you  would  be,  perhaps,  understood 
to  mean  that  she  was  inelegant  or  positively  coarse  and 
vulgar,  though  it  would  be  quite  correct  to  speak  of  a 
simple  soldier,  as  opposed  to  an  officer. 

In  almost  all  cases  where  a  similar  word  would  be- 
gin with  c  hard  in  English,  the  initial  letter  in  Swe- 
dish will  be  k.  There  is  not  a  telling  text  m  the  old 
Swedish  Bible  that  begins  with  c. 

The  rules  for  the  pronunciation  of  Swedish  the  stu- 
dent can  most  easily  form  for  himself,  by  noticing  the 
way  in  which  the  many  French  words  that  are  adopted 
into  the  Swedish  language  are  spelled  by  the  Swedes, 
while  they  sound,  when  spoken,  as  in  the  original 
language :  — 


adieu 
bouillon 
bureau 

adjo 
buljong 
byra 

actrice 
soiree 
amateur 

aktrise 
soare 
amatbr, 

etc. 

etc. 

For  any  reader  who  may  be  interested  in  tracing  out 
the  correspondence  between  the  English  and  the  Swe- 


142 


PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


dish  languages,  we  append  some  lists  of  household 
words  which  resemble  each  other,  as  they  are  used  by 
Columbia's  and  Svea's  children. 

These  examples  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  as 
the  student  will  soon  observe :  — 


brother 

broder 

Wednesday 

Onsdag 

sister 

syster 

Thursday 

Torsdag 

mother 

moder 

Friday 

Fredag 

father 

fader 

Saturday 

Lordag 

son 

son 

daughter 

dotter 

God 

Gud 

church 

kyrka 

summer 

sommar 

priest 

prest 

winter 

vinter 

bishop 

biskop 

January 

Januari 

psalmbook 

psalmbok 

February 

Februari 

song 

sang 

March 

Mars 

door 

dorr 

April 

April 

tower 

torn 

May 

Maj 

bench 

bank 

June 

Juni 

aisle 

gang  (gang) 

July 

Juli 

epistle 

epistel 

August 

Augusti 

bell 

klocka  (clock) 

September 

September 

collection 

kollekt 

October 

Oktober 

bible 

bibel 

November 

November 

sexton 

klockare  (clock) 

December 

December 

catholic 

katolik 

catechism 

katekes 

frost 

frost 

preacher 

predikant 

snow 

sno 

sermon 

predikan 

ice 

is 

to  preach 

predika 

rime 

rim 

wind 

vind 

book 

bok 

cold 

kbld 

paper 

papper 

to  blow 

blasa 

ink 

black  (black) 

hot 

het 

page 

sida  (side) 

rain 

regn 

pen 

penna 

mist 

dimma  (dim) 

table 

bord  (board) 

warmth 

varme 

knife 

knif 

fork 

gaffel  (gaff) 

Sunday 

Sb'ndag 

glass 

glas 

Monday 

Mandag 

porcelain 

porslin 

Tuesday 

Tisdag 

bread 

brbd 

THE  SWEDISH  LANGUAGE. 


143 


butter 

smor  (smear) 

shawl 

sjal 

beef 

ox-kdtt 

veil 

flor  (Florence) 

beafsteak 

biffstek 

lace 

spets 

veal 

kalfkott 

point 

spets 

chicken 

hbns  (hen) 

comb 

kam 

chicken 

kyckling 

glove 

handske  (hand) 

rice 

ris 

linen 

linne 

oil 

olja 

parasol 

parasoll 

pepper 

peppar 

potatoes 

potatis 

bed 

badd 

cake 

kaka 

sofa 

soffa 

tea 

te 

chair 

stol 

coffee 

kaffe 

table    > 

bord 

sugar 

socker 

carpet 

matta  (mat) 

salt 

salt 

arm 

arm 

milk 

mjolk 

foot 

fot 

water 

vatten 

hand 

hand 

blood 

blod 

to  run  out 

rinna 

toe 

ta 

to  run 

springa 

heart 

hjarta 

to  eat 

ata 

finger 

finger 

to  sew 

sy 

thumb 

turn 

to  find 

finna 

liver 

lever 

to  throw 

kasta 

side 

sida 

to  hate 

hata 

hair 

har 

nose 

nasa  (nasal) 

hat 

hatt 

fat 

fet 

cloak 

kappa  (cape) 

mantle 

mantel 

thread 

trad 

dress 

kladning  (clad) 

button 

knapp  (knop) 

shoe 

sko 

needle 

nal  (nail) 

Even  through  Swedish  poems  we  may  trace  the 
resemblances  between  the  Swedish  and  the  English 
languages. 

We  give  below  two  poetical  extracts,  retaining  the 
order  of  the  original  in  the  position  of  the  English 
words,  which  are  chosen  for  their  similarity  to  the 
Swedish  rather  than  for  their  appropriateness  to  be 
used  in  a  proper  translation.  The  first  is  an  extract 
from  a  poem  delivered  by  Victor  Kydberg  at  Upsala, 


144  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

in  1877,  at  the  meeting  of  the  graduates  of  fifty  years 
before,  to  receive  their  honorary  (second)  Doctor's  de- 
gree (Jubelfest-promotion) :  — 

THEOLOGI   (THEOLOGY). 

Triflar     du,    att    der,      i  fjerran,  vantar  ett  forlofoadt  land  f 
Doubtest  thou  that  there,  afar,         waits    a    promised    land? 
Smdktar  du     af  torst    och  dignar  hopplbs   ned      i     hetan    sand  f 
Faintest  thou  of  thirst  and  sinkest  hopeless  down  in  the  hot  sand  ? 
Se,   da      manor      Moses-slafven,  vatten    from  ur          klippans 
See,  then  summons  Moses'  staff,     water    forth  out  of  the  cliffs 

hall  — 

rock  — 

Der/or        genom     bknen         framdt,   mensklighetens  Israel! 
Therefore,  through  the  desert  forward,  humanity's       Israel ! 
Stafoen    har  du     an,  som      dppnar  helga          kalian,  der      han 
The  staff  hast  thou  yet,  which  opens   (the)  holy  fount,   where  it 

slar, 

strikes, 

Klippan,    hvilket  himmelskt    under  I     foljer    dig,   hvar  an     du 
The  rock,  what     a  heavenly  wonder !  follows  thee  wherever  thou 

gar. 

goest. 

Bdj    ditt     krid   vid  hennes  floden,  kiinn,  hur  hennes  rena  vdg 
Bow  thine  knee  at  her       floods,  feel     how  her       pure  wave 
Svalkar     dig    med  underbara  krafter    for  ditt  vandrings   tag ! 
Refreshes  thee  with  wonderful  strength  for  thy  wanderer's  march. 

We  give  but  two  verses,  out  of  the  twenty-one  of  a 
poem,  by  Carl  Snoilsky,  which  appeared  in  1890. 

JOHN   ERICSSON. 

Han  var  ett  fro,   som  vinden      tog, 
He    was  a    seed  that  the  wind  took, 
Och  forde     vesterut, 
And  ferried  westward, 
1    bordig    jord,   sin  rot     del  slog 
In  bearing  earth  its  root  it    struck 
Och   vaxte     Jiogt   till  slut. 
And  waxed  high  at  last. 


THE   SWEDISH  LANGUAGE.  145 

Med  honom,  gaf    ock  du     din     gdrd 
With  him,      gave  also  thou  thine  offering 
Att  bryta   slafvens       band 
To  break  the  slave's  bond 
Och   mura      ljusets  jdttehdrd, 
And  wall  in  light's  giant  hearth, 
Pa  nya         verldens  strand. 
On  the  new  world's   strand. 

THEOLOGY.1 

Doubtest    thou  that  for   thee    waiting   smiles   afar    a   promised 

land? 
Faintest  thou  with  thirst,  and  sinkest  hopeless  in  the  burning 

sand  ? 
Lo!    then  summons   Moses'  staff,  from   mountain  side,  a  living 

well  — 

Forward  on  thy  desert  path,  humanity's  true  Israel ! 
Thou  hast  still  the  staff  that  strikes  and  bids  the  holy  waters 

flow. 

Miracle !  that  rock  still  follows  thee  wherever  thou  dost  go  ! 
Bow  the  knee  by  that  pure  spring !    What  power  that  fountain 

hath, 
Strength  and  joy  to  give,  for  all  thy  pilgrim  path ! 

JOHN   ERICSSON. 

He  was  a  seed  the  wind  caught  up, 

And  westward,  westward  sped; 
In  fruitful  soil  it  struck  its  root, 

And  lifted  high  its  head. 

And  thus,  to  break  the  bondsman's  chain 

Thou,  Sweden,  gav'st  thy  mite, 
And  helped  to  build  beyond  the  main 

The  giant  home  of  light ! 

1  These  translations  are  added  with  the  full    understanding  that 
they  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  originals. 

10 


146  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIKE. 


SUNDAY  MORNING. 

THE  question  in  many  a  Stockholm  family  on  Sun- 
day morning  is,  "  Where  are  you,  and  you,  and  you, 
going  to  church  to-day?"  The  last  evening's  news- 
paper is  brought  to  the  breakfast-table.  Perhaps  some 
one  reads  aloud  from  the  printed  list  of  services 
to  be  held  in  the  city  and  neighborhood,  and  of  the 
clergymen  who  are  to  officiate.  Formerly  only  the 
services  in  the  State  churches  were  enumerated ;  but 
now  those  of  dissenters  of  all  names  —  of  the  English, 
French,  and  Catholic  churches,  and,  latterly,  even  of 
the  Salvation  Army  —  appear  in  the  list. 

The  Sunday  morning  service  has  a  special  pre- 
eminence and  solemnity  in  the  eyes  of  the  Swedes. 
Then  the  priest  at  the  altar  often  sings  a  part  of  the 
service ;  and  that  he  has  done  this  well  or  ill,  in  a 
musical  point  of  view,  is  a  subject  of  church-door 
remark  among  the  less  thoughtful  members  of  the 
congregation.  That  a  candidate  is  a  good  singer  is 
in  many  quarters,  an  important  requisite  in  the  choice 
of  a  new  pastor. 

The  young  daughters  of  a  Stockholm  family  very 
possibly  decide  on  a  Sunday  morning  to  go  to  Ersta, 
where,  in  the  chapel,  the  pastor  of  the  institution 
is  to  preach.  They  may  have  been  confirmed  there 
after  careful  and  earnest  instruction ;  and  to  come 
there  again  is  almost  to  them  like  a  pilgrimage  to 
the  Holy  City.  A  pilgrimage  it  is  in  one  way,  —  prob- 


SUNDAY  MORNING.  147 

ably  an  hour's  walk  for  them  up  a  steep  hill,  unless 
they  care  to  use  the  train,  which  some  devout  people 
dislike  on  Sunday.  The  chapel  at  Ersta  is  in  exqui- 
site taste,  —  so  much  so  that  it  is  impossible  for  a 
stranger  not  to  notice  its  refined  details,  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  solemn  appeals  he  is  hearing.  One  seems 
to  leave  the  world  outside,  on  entering  the  gates  at 
Ersta,  and  to  come  into  the  atmosphere  of  holiness 
and  Christian  love.  You  know  that  here  the  orphan 
is  cared  for,  the  young  offender  put  in  the  way  of 
reformation,  and  the  Magdalen  pointed  to  the  foot  of 
the  cross  and  told  there  is  hope  even  for  her. 

In  the  hospital  the  deaconesses,  white-capped  and 
gentle  and  experienced,  are  going  from  sick-bed  to 
sick-bed ;  and  in  one  part  of  the  establishment  the 
aged  deaconesses  have  their  home,  where  they  may 
calmly  rest  and  await  their  call  to  go  "  up  higher." 

The  arrangements  of  the  hospital  are  admirable  for 
people  of  all  conditions  in  life.  A  family,  by  paying 
to  the  hospital  about  ten  dollars  a  year  regularly  for 
each  of  their  servants,  can  have  the  privilege  of  send- 
ing any  one  of  them  who  may  be  ill  to  Ersta,  to  be 
nursed  until  recovery  or  death.  This  is  done  in 
many  households,  and  is  a  perpetual  source  of  income 
for  the  hospital.  In  apartment  houses  it  is  often  im- 
possible to  retain  a  sick  servant  under  the  eye  of  her 
employers  ;  and  this  arrangement  at  Ersta  is  therefore 
a  great  blessing  to  all  parties.  For  about  the  same 
sum  as  for  a  servant,  one  can  send  a  poor  patient  to 
be  cared  for  at  Ersta  for  a  month,  and  be  sure  that 
the  sufferer  will  have  good  nursing  and  medical 
attendance. 

So  much  for  Ersta.  We  will  let  the  family  scatter 
in  different  directions.  The  father  has  possibly  a 


148  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

"  committee  "  at  twelve  o'clock,  which  will  prevent  his 
attending  the  morning  service.  "  There  really  was  no 
time  in  the  week,"  he  says,  "  when  we  could  manage 
to  come  together." 

In  Stockholm,  as  elsewhere,  a  gifted,  eloquent 
preacher  will  always  have  a  crowd  to  hear  him, 
wherever  he  preaches,  and  whatever  distinctive  name 
his  part  of  the  Church  Catholic  may  bear. 

The  clergymen  of  the  State  Church  generally  take 
their  text  from  the  "  Gospel  for  the  day  ; "  and  as  there 
are  three  yearly  services  of  "  Gospels  "  now  provided, 
there  is  some  variety  in  the  midst  of  uniformity.  A 
single  text  is  sometimes  selected  from  the  same  source, 
but  the  usual  plan  is  to  go  through  the  exposition  of 
the  whole  passage.  We  give  a  slight  sketch  of  some 
of  those  sermons  that  seemed  to  us  particularly  strik- 
ing and  profitable. 

The  first  was  delivered  at  the  profusely  gilded 
royal  chapel,  —  an  evangelical  sermon  from  a  High 
Church  Bishop,  who  is  Chief  Court  Preacher,  by 
title.  He  is  a  gifted  man,  and  his  sermon  was  perfect 
in  form  and  delivery.  The  Gospel  was  the  parable 
of  the  two  debtors,  and  the  subject  of  the  sermon 
forgiveness.  God  forgives  freely,  fully,  and  forever. 
There  is  no  grudge  cherished  against  the  sinner,  no 
bringing  up  of  old  offences  to  humiliate  and  discourage 
the  penitent ;  no  unpaid  farthing  is  registered  against 
him.  Jesus  has  paid  the  ransom,  cancelled  the  debt, 
and  we  are  free,  accepted,  beloved.  Go  thou  and  do 
likewise  towards  thine  offending  brother,  thine  enemy, 
thy  tormentor.  Forgive  them  all  from  the  bottom 
of  thine  heart.  Let  no  bitter  drop  rankle  in  thy 
bosom !  Keep  no  register  against  him  who  has 
wronged  thee !  Treasure  up,  ponder  over,  no  harsh 


SUNDAY   MORNING.  149 

words,  no  unkind  acts,  no  unworthy  deceit,  no  false 
slander,  no  crooked  business  dealing,  by  which  you 
have  been  made  to  suffer.  Love,  forgive,  as  you 
would  be  loved  and  forgiven,  as  God  has  loved  and 
has  forgiven  you. 

Another  sermon  was  from  a  Baron,  an  officer  in  the 
Swedish  navy,  delivered  in  a  church  independent  of 
the  Establishment,  with  free  seats,  and  built  by  the 
liberality  of  one  individual.  There  priests  of  the  State 
Church,  a  foreign  evangelist  with  a  translator,  a  de- 
vout officer,  or  even  a  rapt  woman,  may  be  heard. 
The  Baron's  subject  was  Christian  union,  the  universal 
brotherhood  of  the  followers  of  our  Lord.  The 
manner  of  the  speaker  was  perfectly  simple  and 
natural.  He  spoke  without  notes,  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly, with  apparently  no  more  thought  of  himself 
than  if  he  were  talking  to  the  dear  members  of  his 
own  family  circle. 

There  was  a  little  movement,  almost  a  murmur  of 
approval,  among  the  congregation  as  he  expressed 
most  effectively  the  mutual  love  and  forbearance 
that  should  exist  between  Christians  of  different 
names,  —  the  feeling  of  a  common  cause  in  the  struggle 
against  evil,  —  the  mutual  support,  the  tender  whole- 
hearted union  that  should  exist  and  be  deeply  felt 
among  the  followers  of  Christ.  It  was  plain,  as 
might  be  expected  in  that  place  of  worship,  the  au- 
dience were  like-minded  with  the  speaker  on  that 
subject.  But  he  did  not  stop  there,  and  leave  them 
to  a  contracted  indorsement  of  his  expressed  opinions. 
He  went  on :  "  If  you  do  belong  to  this  common 
brotherhood,  this  true  strong  union  of  kindred  souls 
joined  to  the  great  soul  of  the  Lord  Christ,  you  must 
have  the  unfailing  family  marks  of  this  great  united 


150  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

household  ' "  Then  followed  a  searching  description 
of  the  essential  signs  and  tokens  of  a  true  inner  life, 
working  to  outward  holiness  and  humble  self-sacrific- 
ing labors  for  the  good  of  the  world.  There  was  no 
murmur  of  approval  among  the  congregation,  but  a 
deep  silence,  while  self-examination  and  penitential 
confession  and  holy  prayer  for  a  stronger  Christian 
life  and  a  more  full  consecration  stirred,  no  doubt, 
deep  down  in  the  hearts  of  the  hearers. 

The  Salvation  Army  is  no  Swedish  invention,  as 
the  wide  world .  well  knows.  Its  methods  are  par- 
ticularly obnoxious  to  the  natural  character  of  the 
Swedes,  and  its  whole  work  was  long  bitterly  opposed 
among  all  classes  in  Sweden,  save  the  most  degraded, 
to  whom  it  held  out  hope  of  reformation,  and  a  full 
and  free  return  to  the  Father's  house.  Less  perhaps 
for  the  recognition  of  the  Salvation  Army  among  the 
true  churches  has  been  done  by  its  songs  or  trumpets, 
or  occasional  gifted  preachers,  than  by  the  humble 
work  of  the  "  slum  sisters,"  living  among  the  desper- 
ately wicked,  the  fallen  and  the  falling,  and  winning 
them  back,  by  self-sacrificing  love,  to  be  not  only 
good  citizens  but  faithful  followers  of  the  Great 
Master.  Now  the  Army  has  its  own  great  building 
for  its  good  purposes,  and  the  soldiers  in  their  poke- 
bonnets  or  caps  with  red  badges  go  about  unmolested 
on  their  errands  of  mercy. 

General  Booth  is  not  a  Swedish  preacher,  but  he 
is  a  preacher  who  has  many  times  addressed  full 
houses,  thronged  by  attentive  Swedes,  who  patiently 
wait  for  his  words  while  the  slow  process  of  inter- 
pretation goes  on.  On  one  occasion  he  preached  in 
the  great  audience  hall  of  the  Salvation  Army  build- 
ing. It  was  a  cold  morning,  with  deep  snow  on  the 


SUNDAY  MOENING.  151 

ground,  but  the  eager  hearers  were  not  to  be  kept 
at  home  by  such  slight  obstacles.  There  were  some 
reserved  seats,  but  generally  an  admission  fee  of  about 
eight  cents  was  paid,  at  the  door  of  the  hall. 

The  General  said  nothing  that  could  be  objected 
to  doctrinally  in  any  orthodox  congregation  in  Chris- 
tendom, though  his  appearance  and  bearing  were 
most  peculiar,  and  his  gesticulation  and  illustrations 
erratic.  There  was  no  din  of  instruments,  or  interrup- 
tion of  the  discourse  for  song  or  clamor. 

The  divine  life  in  the  soul  was  announced  as  the 
subject  of  the  address.  It  was  something  from  above, 
that  came  from  God,  a  gift  to  man  for  the  regenerat- 
ing and  purifying  of  the  heart  and  life.  It  was  not 
enough  to  believe  Lutheran  doctrine  or  wear  Salvation 
Army  clothes  ;  there  must  be  something  deeper,  some- 
thing more  effective,  that  would  take  possession  of  and 
uplift  the  whole  being.  The  illustrations,  that  seemed 
at  the  time  most  exceptionable  and  unattractive,  have 
kept  their  places  in  the  mind  as  curiously  embodied 
but  imperishable  truth.  "  Soul,  may  I  come  to  dwell 
with  thee  in  thy  house  ? "  says  the  Saviour.  "  Welcome, 
Lord,"  says  the  soul ;  "  this  beautiful  suite  of  rooms 
shall  be  at  your  service."  "  But  what  is  the  apartment 
above  ?  "  asks  the  Master.  "  That  is  for  my  entertain- 
ments, when  I  have  my  friends  about  me,"  answers 
the  soul.  "  And  the  apartment  below  ? "  continues  the 
Lord,  searchingly.  "  There  I  have  my  rooms  for  my 
business,  and  my  own  private  apartment,  for  my 
family."  "  If  I  am  with  you,"  says  the  Lord,  "  I  must 
be  in  all  the  house,  not  merely  in  rooms  set  apart 
for  my  special  use.  I  must  be  with  you  in  your  family 
when  you  have  your  guests,  and  in  your  secret 
chamber,  and  in  your  place  of  business." 


152  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

And  again,  "Will  you  go  with  me?"  says  the  Lord 
to  the  souL  "Yes,  Lord,  is  the  clear  answer  of  the 
soul."  General  Booth  then  took  the  interpreter  by 
the  arm,  and  they  seemed  struggling  to  go  in  differ- 
ent directions  across  the  platform.  The  congregation 
looked  on  with  astonishment.  "  So  it  is  with  the 
soul ! "  burst  forth  the  General.  "  It  consents  will- 
ingly to  follow  the  Lord ;  but  the  Lord  must  walk 
in  the  way  of  its  choice,  if  they  are  to  be  companions. 
The  way  of  the  Lord  is  not  the  desired  way  of  the 
soul.  The  way  of  the  Lord  leads  by  the  cross ;  and 
the  human  soul  shrinks  from  that  path,  even  though 
it  lead  to  Heaven  ' " 

At  the  close  of  the  address,  all  who  would  have 
the  divine  life  in  the  soul  and  follow  the  Master  were 
called  on  to  stand  up.  Lutherans  and  Methodists 
and  Baptists,  American  Episcopalians,  and  members 
of  the  English  Church,  stood  up  together.  They 
could  not  remain  sitting,  any  more  than  they  could 
have  trampled  on  the  flag  of  their  country.  That 
was  a  church  union  demonstration  of  .a  most  peculiar 
kind,  and  most  peculiar  to  have  occurred  in  orthodox, 
conservative,  Lutheran  Sweden.  It  was  the  true  Sal- 
vation Army,  without  red  garment  or  music  or 
banners.  They  were  soldiers  who  might  have  their 
taste  offended  or  their  prejudices  shocked,  but  they 
would  not  openly  deny  their  Great  Captain,  or  refuse 
to  acknowledge  that  they  wanted  to  be  his  "  faithful 
soldiers  and  servants  to  their  life's  end." 


SUNDAY  AFTERNOON.  153 


SUNDAY  AFTERNOON. 

THE  morning  service  of  the  Swedish  Church  is  very 
long ;  the  afternoon  service  is  short,  usually  very  short. 
It  takes  place  at  six  o'clock,  and  bears,  as  in  the  Eng- 
lish Church,  a  name  that  reminds  us  of  "  the  vesper 
hour,"  evensong  (Aftonsang).  These  services  are  often 
scantily  attended,  and  usually  rather  by  the  wor- 
shippers who  have  been  kept  at  home  in  the  morning 
than  by  those  who,  having  had  a  feast  of  good  things 
already,  yet  long  for  more. 

On  a  summer  Sunday  afternoon  the  population  of 
Stockholm  stream  out  from  the  city  as  if  the  Huns  were 
after  them.  Out,  out,  somewhere,  anywhere !  is  the  gen- 
eral feeling.  The  foot-passengers  take  their  way  in  such 
crowds  to  the  royal  park  (Djurgdrden),  that  the  resi- 
dents there  can  hear  the  steady  tramp  of  many  feet,  as 
if  an  army  were  passing.  Whole  families  (men,  women, 
and  children)  carrying  "  wraps  "  and  baskets  of  provi- 
sions, are  hurrying  by ;  the  children  often  running  in 
their  haste  to  be  fairly  in  the  woods,  where  there  are 
flowers  that  may  be  picked  with  nobody  to  chide  The 
hand-organ  men  are  not  all  to  be  left  behind.  A  few 
pass  at  intervals  ;  while  from  the  thronged  noisy  plain 
(Slcitten)  at  the  entrance  of  the  park,  there  comes  a 
mingled  sound  of  street  music  and  the  murmurs  and 
cries  of  a  multitude.  There,  on  the  plain,  all  sorts  of 
travelling-shows  are  on  exhibition,  and  the  Swedish 
form  of  Punch  and  Judy  has  its  performers  popping 


154  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

up  and  down,  with  their  high-pitched  voices,  their 
extravagant  gestures,  and  borrowed  wit,  to  the  admi- 
ration of  the  gaping  audience.  At  the  well-known 
restaurant  (Hasselbackeri)  close  at  hand,  people  with 
longer  purses  are  taking  refreshment  in  the  open  air 
and  to  the  sound  of  better  music. 

The  woods  are  soon  alive  with  groups  sitting  on  the 
grass,  making  a  rural  home  for  the  time ;  the  whole 
family,  baby  not  excepted,  being  of  the  party.  The 
hard-handed  father  has  pushed  the  small  wagon,  or 
carried  the  little  one  more  than  an  English  mile  or 
two,  that  "  mother  "  might  have  her  outing  with  her 
necessary  baby  accompaniment.  Happy  if  the  lunch- 
basket  has  not  been  provided  with  something  that 
makes  the  father  soon  willing  to  lie  down  for  a  long 
sleep,  with  his  children  playing  about  him ;  while  an 
anxious  look  steals  over  the  face  of  his  wife,  as  she 
sits  near  him  with  her  babe  smiling  on  her  knee. 

At  a  little  distance  the  lads  and  the  lassies  are 
having  a  game  of  "  the  last  pair  out."  The  players 
stand  in  two  long  lines,  —  one  dark  with  Sunday  coats, 
and  the  other  gay  with  summer  holiday  dresses.  At 
the  head  of  the  ranks  is  a  youth  or  a  girl  alone,  —  "  the 
widow,"  or  "widower,"  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
game  ;  "  the  catcher  "  American  children  would  prob- 
ably call  this  active  individual.  At  the  cry  "  The  last 
pair  out ' "  the  couple  lowest  in  the  rank  start  for  a 
given  point.  The  catcher  tries  to  get  a  partner  by 
overtaking  one  of  the  pair.  If  the  catcher  succeeds, 
the  new  pair  takes  the  head  of  the  rank,  and  the 
discomfited  partner  must  be  "  widow  "  or  "  widower," 
and  try  to  catch  a  mate  from  "  the  next  pair  out ; " 
and  so  the  game  can  go  on  the  whole  evening.  The 
Swedish  girls  are  swift  and  wonderfully  graceful 


SUNDAY   AFTERNOON.  155 

runners ;  but  the  young  men,  more  stiffened  by  hard 
work,  do  not  shine  in  this  favorite  game. 

Perhaps  in  some  quiet  nook  one  may  see  a  family 
more  seriously  disposed,  —  some  reading,  while  others 
are  quietly  enjoying  the  fresh  air.  Here  and  there  a 
travelling  exhorter  has  a  group  about  him,  while  he 
says  a  word,  in  season  or  out  of  season,  in  his  own 
pungent  way. 

Not  hiding  away,  but  where  any  one  may  see  them, 
there  may  be  a  set  of  rough  fellows  drinking  and  play- 
ing cards,  for  whom  the  more  respectable  people  leave 
a  wide  berth  as  they  pass. 

Skansen  is  of  course  thronged.  This  is  a  compara- 
tively new  place  of  amusement  in  the  royal  park,  —  a 
museum,  a  menagerie,  and  an  historical  and  geographi- 
cal presentation,  where  Stockholm  dwellers  with  short 
purses  and  time  taken  up  with  week-day  work  like 
on  Sunday  evenings  to  wander  about,  and  go  home 
feeling  as  wise  and  full  of  knowledge  of  beasts  and 
birds  and  Swedish  peasant  costumes  as  if  they  had 
made  an  extended  tour  throughout  their  native  land. 

It  is  not  only  on  Sunday  that  Skansen  is  visited  by 
Swedes  and  strangers.  There  has  been  lately  a  grand 
court-pageant  there,  where  the  historical  past  was  pre- 
sented, with  old  costumes,  old  carriages,  and  old  cus- 
toms, to  amuse  and  instruct  a  modern  crowd,  to  the 
apparent  delight  of  king,  statesman,  working-man,  and 
working-woman  too. 

On  Sunday  evening,  whole  fleets  of  little  steamboats 
have  glided  away  from  Stockholm  in  all  directions. 
Some  passengers  have  gone  out  just  for  the  sail,  and 
will  not  leave  the  boat  at  all ;  others  are  lost  in  the 
greenness  of  the  various  resorts ;  and  others  are  sitting 
with  some  friends  in  the  country,  smoking  and  chat- 


156  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

ting,  and  drinking  something,  —  certainly  not  iced 
water,  which  is  not  a  favorite  drink  with  the  Swedes. 
Many  have  always  come  out  from  the  city,  but  many 
more,  it  always  seems,  are  waiting  at  the  close  of  the 
evening  to  come  back.  There  are  sure  to  be,  as  each 
boat  starts  cityward  with  perhaps  more  than  its 
allowed  number  of  passengers  on  board,  disconsolate 
groups  on  the  landings,  who  have  come  too  late  even 
for  standing-room  in  the  crowded  boat.  Not  that 
these  unfortunates  are  to  pass  the  night  where  they 
are.  Some  special  little  steamer  will  be  sent  out  to 
pick  up  the  tired  pleasure-seekers,  to  get  home,  at  no- 
body knows  what  time,  in  the  small  morning  hours. 

In  the  whiter  Sunday  afternoon  will  bear  a  different 
face  in  Stockholm;  but  do  not  believe  it  will  be  all 
quiet  church-going.  It  begins  to  be  dark  before  four 
o'clock ;  but  the  streets  are  brilliantly  lighted,  and  the 
lamps  are  burning  above  many  dinner-tables  where 
people  are  sitting  down  to  any  number  of  courses,  with 
wines  of  various  flavors  and  colors  to  match.  Married 
children  are  visiting  their  parents,  and  the  little  ones 
are  jubilant  in  the  midst  of  their  weekly  visit  to 
"  Grandmother." 

There  may  have  been,  earlier,  prize  skating  on  the 
public  pond.  Ladies  wrapped  in  furs  have  been  sitting 
in  privileged  seats,  to  watch  the  swiftness  and  skill  and 
wonderful  manoauvres  of  the  contestants.  The  king, 
who  has  been  chatting  with  court  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
with  now  an  arm  over  this  gentleman's  shoulder  and 
now  a  playful  word  for  a  lady,  has  given  out  the  prizes 
at  last.  A  miss  of  fifteen  receives,  perhaps,  a  gold 
bracelet,  and  a  youth  a  medal, — the  highest  he  can  get 
in  Sweden ;  so  he  is  off  next  month  to  Berlin  to  win 
laurels  at  the  international  contest,  for  the  Swedes  are 
specially  dexterous  and  graceful  skaters. 


SUNDAY   AFTERNOON.  157 

After  dinner  the  boys  and  girls  will  be  out  with 
their  sleds  to  throng  the  hills  of  the  well-lighted  city, 
while  older  parties  have  gone  to  the  toboggan  slide  at 
Djursholm,  gliding  far  out  on  the  thick  ice  of  the 
inlet. 

In  many  quiet  homes  there  is  music,  —  the  Swedish 
Wennerberg's  beautiful  renderings  of  the  First  or  the 
Twenty-third  Psalm  perhaps,  a  few  hymns,  a  patriotic 
song,  and  then  some  old  ballads ;  they  may  be  Nor- 
wegian, to  please  "  papa." 

There  may  be  a  sacred  concert  that  has  drawn  many 
lovers  of  music  for  a  really  edifying  evening,  or  good 
singing  and  a  variety  of  well-played  instruments  at  a 
favorite  restaurant. 

Where  the  poor  laborer  or  tired  mechanic  sometimes 
spends  his  Sunday  evenings,  it  is  hard  to  say.  Sure  it 
is,  that  he  is  often  not  at  his  work  on  Monday  morn- 
ing, or  appears  much  damaged,  and  far  too  late  to 
please  his  employers. 

There  are  many  homes  whose  Sunday  evenings  have 
not  been  described.  The  daughters  have  been  at  the 
morning  service,  and  after  lunch  at  their  Sunday-school. 
Perhaps  one  of  them  was  the  teacher,  whose  turn  it 
was  for  the  day  to  tell  some  profitable  and  interesting 
story  to  the  children ;  and  she  doubtless  did  it  well, 
though  she  trembled  as  she  rose ;  the  flush  in  her  face 
deepened  as  she  went  on,  until  she  lost  herself  at  last 
in  her  loving  talk  to  the  little  ones. 

There  was  no  ceremonious  company  at  dinner  in  that 
household ;  the  boys  may  have  with  them  some  com- 
panion from  a  sorrowful  or  a  restricted  home,  that  he 
too  may  taste  of  the  free  family  joy  and  abundant  fare. 
There  may  be  some  old  lady,  who  has  seen  better  days, 
who  is  a  Sunday  guest  to  be  specially  honored,  and 


158  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE 

encouraged  to  talk  about  bygone  times  when  she  was 
young,  to  a  circle  of  kindly  listeners.  There  will  be 
singing  of  hymns  in  the  evening,  in  which  even  she 
joins  as  best  she  can ;  indeed,  all  join  but  the  father, 
who  seems  lost  in  reverie  as  he  sits  in  his  great  easy- 
chair.  He  starts  up  suddenly  at  last.  The  hymn  is 
Luther's  "  Our  God  is  our  Strong  Castle,"  and  he  makes 
one  stride  to  the  group  at  the  piano,  and  his  full  base 
voice  comes  from  his  true  singer's  throat,  and  from  his 
heart,  too,  now  fairly  attuned  for  praise.  He  has  a 
sweet  sympathetic  smile  from  the  mother,  whose  face 
is  full  of  the  light  that  makes  glad  the  earthly  home. 
The  strangers  will  stay  to  evening  prayer,  when  all  will 
sit  quietly  with  folded  hands,  while  a  few  words  of 
exhortation  are  read,  and  a  prayer  read  too,  probably, 
and  closed  by  the  repetition  of  a  devout  hymn,  whose 
petitions  are  known  even  to  the  youngest  present.  The 
guests  will  take  leave  as  ceremoniously  as  if  there  had 
been  a  formal  reception,  and  neither  the  old  lady  nor 
the  little  lad  will  forget  to  thank  the  hostess  for  her 
kind  hospitality ;  and  well  they  may,  for  it  is  a  privi- 
lege to  have  even  an  occasional  peep  into  such  a 
home. 

In  many  a  country  cottage  and  many  a  fisherman's 
rude  summer  dwelling  on  a  rocky  island,  the  Sabbath 
has  begun  on  Saturday  evening.  The  signs  of  toil  have 
been  washed  away  by  a  dash  in  the  lake  or  the  sea, 
and  the  holiday  attire  has  been  donned,  and  a  feeling 
of  rest  and  sobriety  has  stolen  over  the  family  before 
the  evening  prayer ;  for  prayer  there  may  be,  though 
the  heads  of  the  family  are  not  specially  devout  in 
other  respects.  There  may  be  a  walk  of  five  English 
miles  or  so  to  church  the  next  morning,  and  the  even- 
ing spent  at  the  dissenting  chapel,  where  some  ex- 


SUNDAY  AFTERNOON.  159 

horter  may  speak  as  to  the  little  ones,  to  cheer  and 
amuse  and  edify  in  his  own  quaint  way. 

A  letter  from  a  son  in  America  has  perhaps  been 
dealt  out  to  the  father  after  the  church  service,  and 
that  must  be  read  over  again  before  they  all  go  to  bed, 
to  dream  of  the  strange  land  far  over  the  sea,  where 
one  of  their  own  flesh  and  blood  has  his  home.  Per- 
haps the  words  of  the  simple  exhorter  may  linger  in 
the  mind  of  the  father,  instead  of  thoughts  of  the  son. 
What  he  has  never  really  taken  home  to  his  heart 
from  any  priest's  sermon  seems  easier  and  plainer  when 
told  in  the  simple  familiar  language  of  the  man  who 
works  all  the  week  for  himself  and  in  his  great  Mas- 
ter's vineyard  on  Sunday. 

Dissent  in  Sweden  has  generally  nothing  to  do  with 
doctrine.  There  are  a  very  few  clergymen  who  have 
gone  out  from  the  State  Church  because  its  tenets  or 
construction  were  to  them  objectionable ;  but  these  are 
the  rare  exceptions.  The  people  at  large  have  accepted 
from  childhood  the  opinion  instilled  into  them,  that 
Martin  Luther  was  little  less  than  inspired ;  and  Lu- 
therans in  fact  they  continue  to  the  end  of  their  days, 
by  whatever  heretical  name  they  may  choose  to  be 
called. 

The  State  Church  is  consistent  in  her  forms  for 
sacred  offices  and  her  public  worship.  She  takes  it  for 
granted  that  all  her  performed  rites  are  effectual,  her 
prayers  answered,  and  her  members  properly  repentant, 
and  so  freely  and  fully  forgiven.  The  children  learn 
from  their  Catechism  that  they  were  made  Christians  in 
baptism,  and  partakers  of  the  blessings  thereto  apper- 
taining. These  Christians  are  almost  all,  at  about  six- 
teen years  of  age,  after  thorough  public  instruction  in 
doctrine  and  practice,  confirmed  by  the  pastor  who  has 


160  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

prepared  them  for  the  rite.  There  may  be  some  mem- 
bers of  the  class  for  "  The  Children  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per "  (as  they  are  beautifully  called),  who  are  mentally 
deficient,  or  cannot  easil/  learn  by  rote  the  lessons 
required  of  them.  A  careful  pastor  gives  such  children 
extra  instruction,  for  a  certain  amount  of  "  head  knowl- 
edge "  they  must  have  before  confirmation. 

At  the  Confirmation  service,  a  young  girl  wears 
her  first  long  dress,  a  black  one,  though  often  the 
boy  has  a  white  necktie  and  white  gloves,  and 
wears  a  black  suit.  Both  are  now  provided  with 
their  church  attire  for  the  future,  especially  for 
communion  occasions.  After  the  Confirmation  there 
is  often  a  dinner  for  the  family  connection  and  fa- 
miliar friends ;  and  the  young  person  just  confirmed 
receives  gifts,  according  to  her  station  and  the  pe- 
cuniary resources  of  her  friends.  A  watch,  bracelets, 
brooches  often  fall  to  the  share  of  a  girl ;  and  a  watch, 
books,  a  bicycle,  or  a  boat  may  delight  a  young  lad. 

The  Sunday  following  the  Confirmation,  the  chil- 
dren "  go  forward "  to  the  Holy  Communion,  kneeling 
together  round  the  chancel  as  the  first  recipients. 
It  is  a  solemn  day  in  many  families  where  religious 
matters  are  ordinarily  little  thought  of,  and  there 
are  few  young  people  who  are  not,  for  the  time  at 
least,  solemnly  impressed.  The  girl  is  now  considered 
old  enough  to  enter  society,  and  to  be  looked  upon 
as  a  young  lady.  She  may  hereafter  go  anywhere 
with  her  parents,  or  a  suitable  chaperone,  to  ball, 
theatre,  or  merry-making  of  any  respectable  kind. 
She  has  been  confirmed ;  her  school-days  are  probably 
over,  though  she  may  take  supplementary  courses 
of  instruction ;  and  her  childhood  lies  behind  her. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  young  man  or  young 


SUNDAY  AFTERNOON.  161 

woman  so  trained  and  so  confirmed  in  a  not  particu- 
larly religious  family,  in  high  life  or  humble  life, 
chances  to  go  with  some  friend  to  a  dissenters'  meeting, 
and  is  reached  by  the  deep  truths  and  experiences 
that  remodel  the  inner  life.  A  new  hope  and  a  new 
joy  have  come  to  the  convert,  and  new  purposes  for 
duty  and  self-government  are  struggling  to  life. 
These  converts  condemn  as  dead  and  worthless  all 
their  past  instruction  and  their  own  so-called  religion. 
The  liturgy,  they  say,  was  a  dead  form,  the  cere- 
monies were  dead,  the  Church  where  they  were  fos- 
tered is  dead,  and  they  must  go  out  from  it  all,  as  if 
escaping  from  Sodom.  They  do  not  understand  that 
some  friend  who  quietly  knelt  beside  them  during 
the  Confirmation  service,  then  and  there  did  really 
and  gladly  pledge  herself  to  the  holy  life  in  its 
fulness  towards  which  she  from  childhood  had  been 
secretly  striving.  These  converts  do  not  know  that 
what  have  been  dead  prayers  to  them  have  been 
real  utterances  of  the  heart  for  many  of  the  worship- 
pers, and  at  the  Lord's  Supper  the  Master  has  drawn 
near  to  many  of  these  his  true  children,  and  they 
to  him.  To  the  dissenters  the  new  converts  go.  There 
they  have  found  man's  greatest  treasure,  and  there 
they  cast  in  their  lot. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  young  woman  from 
the  country  comes  to  the  city  alone.  At  home  she 
knew,  at  least  by  sight,  every  one  in  the  little  church 
of  the  town  or  village  where  she  was  born.  She  sits 
down  timidly  in  one  of  the  great  Stockholm  churches, 
perhaps  the  only  girl  present,  with  a' black  silk  hand- 
kerchief on  her  head  instead  of  a  hat.  The  hat  soon 
takes  the  place  of  the  handkerchief,  and  the  wearer 
finds  her  way  to  some  hall  or  upper  room,  where  in 

11 


162  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

a  simple,  sociable  way  humble  people  are  worship- 
ping together,  and  being  taught  of  better  things  in 
words  they  can  understand  by  some  illiterate  speaker 
or  some  gifted  enthusiast.  The  stranger  is  at  ease 
at  once.  Friendliness  greets  her,  love  opens  her  heart, 
and  the  truth  strikes  home.  She  never  enters  one 
of  the  great  city  churches  again. 

It  took  courage,  years  ago,  even  practically  to  go 
out  from  the  State  Church.  There  was  a  kind  of 
social  contempt  cast  upon  such  a  renegade,  that  was 
a  sort  of  persecution.  Those  days  are  past,  and  tol- 
erance is  ever  on  the  increase.  It  has  been  thought 
an  inexcusable  impertinence  for  a  dissenting  place 
of  worship  to  be  open  during  the  time  of  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  morning  service  in  the  State  churches. 
Now,  on  Sunday  morning,  in  any  large  city,  such 
places  have  their  congregations  as  regularly  gathered 
as  if  they  were  assembled  in  a  time-honored  cathe- 
dral, and  with  no  more  unkindly  remark  on  the 
circumstance.  The  dissenting  places  of  worship  were 
first  colloquially  called  "  houses  of  prayer ;"  but  they 
would  perhaps  be  more  correctly  called  preaching 
houses,  as  the  sermon  is  the  essential  point  in  the 
service,  though  there  is  much  good  extemporaneous 
prayer  offered,  and  many  hymns  are  fervently  sung. 

There  is  a  productive  cause  of  dissent,  which  must 
not  be  overlooked.  Some  youth  baptized,  confirmed, 
and  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  at  least  the 
prescribed  number  of  times  in  the  year,  makes  up 
his  mind  to  choose  the  clerical  profession.  Perhaps 
he  has  never  once  questioned  himself  as  to  whether 
he  was  a  Christian  at  heart  as  well  as  in  name.  He 
studies  theology,  and  can  at  last  more  easily  define 
the  heresies  with  the  longest  names  than  he  could 


SUNDAY   AFTERNOON.  163 

say  what  he  honestly,  in  the  depths  of  his  heart, 
really  believes.  He  enters  the  priesthood,  and  per- 
forms his  clerical  functions  so  often  that  he  knows 
so  well  what  he  ought  to  say  in  every  rite  and  cere- 
mony that  he  can  actually  think  of  something  else 
while  going  on  with  the  service  for  the  moment 
in  question.  This  is  a  hardening  process.  Tempta- 
tion assails  him  in  spite  of  his  cloth.  He  goes  down, 
by  slow  degrees,  until  the  whole  parish  know  that 
he  is  an  evil  liver ;  yet  no  one  will  testify  against  him. 
The  Swedes  have  such  a  respect  for  the  clergy  that 
for  a  parishioner  to  testify  against  his  own  pastor 
is  to  their  mind  an  outrageous  disrespect  to  consti- 
tuted authority,  and  almost  an  attack  upon  the  oracles 
of  God.  A  bishop  cannot  depose  a  priest  without 
proper  testimony  against  him.  To  depose  him  for 
drunkenness,  it  must  be  proved  that  he  was  intoxi- 
cated while  performing  some  official  function.  To 
prove  that  a  man  was  intoxicated  on  a  certain  occa- 
sion, in  or  out  of  the  chancel,  is  often  a  difficult 
matter,  though  the  conviction  of  the  observers  on 
the  subject  may  be  most  decided.  There  may  be 
sudden  bodily  illness,  or  nervousness,  or  over-fatigue, 
or  a  sluggishness  of  nature,  or  the  opposite  excitability, 
which  renders  it  difficult  to  be  positively  certain  what 
ails  a  man,  when  his  conduct  or  bearing  is  exceptional 
or  extraordinary.  To  take  a  man's  good  name  is 
especially  dangerous  in  Sweden.  An  old  woman,  a 
"  help  madame "  in  a  prominent  family,  said  to  a 
fellow-servant  that  she  had  seen  a  certain  man  steal- 
ing wood.  The  accused  heard  the  remark,  and  prose- 
cuted her  for  slander.  She  could  not  prove  her 
assertion  to  be  correct,  and  was  sentenced  to  six 
weeks'  imprisonment.  Her  employer  offered  to  bail 


164  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

her,  as  she  was  over  seventy  years  of  age ;  but  this 
she  stoutly  refused,  and  suffered  the  punishment, 
which  did  not  so  affect  her  health  as  to  prevent  her 
living  to  be  eighty.  When  the  character  is  so  pro- 
tected by  law,  it  is  specially  difficult  to  convict  a 
clergyman  of  evil  living.  One  such  pastor  makes 
many  dissenters.  They  do  not  testify  against  him, 
but  they  lose  confidence  in  the  church  where  he  con- 
tinues to  minister,  and  seek  another  religious  body, 
as  their  spiritual  home.  It  is  sometimes  difficult  for 
a  young  person  to  get  a  certificate  of  discharge  under 
such  circumstances.  Dissenters  must  pay  their  church 
taxes,  while  they  build  their  own  place  of  worship 
and  support  their  own  minister.  This  is  a  fruitful 
source  of  dissatisfaction.  Persons  who  leave  the  State 
Church  on  account  of  the  unworthiness  of  their  pastor 
are  generally  of  the  least  bitter  among  the  non- 
conformists. 

Another  cause  of  dissent  is  the  admission  of  all 
who  have  been  confirmed  to  the  Holy  Communion.  It 
is  rare  that  there  is  any  church  discipline  exercised  in 
this  matter ;  and  on  this  account  many  devout  persons, 
and  perhaps  some  harsh  or  sanctimonious  ones,  join 
religious  bodies  where  they  think  discipline  is  more 
stringent  and  there  is  a  stronger  effort  to  keep  the 
church  pure.  It  is  a  difficult  thing,  anywhere,  to 
keep  a  church  made  of  poor  human  members  up 
to  the  proper  standard  of  belief  and  practice,  hypoc- 
risy being  possible  in  the  most  outwardly  seemly  and 
unexceptionable. 


FREDRIKA  BREMER.  165 


FREDRIKA    BEEMER. 

FREDRIKA  BREMER  was  born  in  Finland,  in  1801. 
Her  father  was  an  ironmaster,  descended  from  an  old 
German  noble  family,  who  settled  in  Sweden  during 
the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Early  in  1800,  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  Stockholm. 

From  the  biography  of  the  well-known  novelist, 
written  by  her  beloved  sister,  we  take  some  particulars 
with  regard  to  their  common  childhood :  — 

"  At  the  time  when  Fredrika  and  I  were  growing  up, 
there  was  not  the  same  relation  between  parents  and 
children  which  now  exists.  Strict  parents  are  now  the 
exception.  They  were  then  generally  the  rule,  and  their 
children  regarded  them  with  fear  rather  than  with  love 
and  reverence.  I  remember  now  how,  many  times  when 
our  parents  were  coming  home,  we  hurried  as  soon  as  we 
heard  their  voices,  to  hide  in  the  room  of  our  French 
governess  or  our  Finnish  nurse,  old  Lena.  This  gover- 
ness, right-thinking,  truthful,  and  God-fearing,  laid  the 
foundation  of  all  that  was  good  in  us.  Through  her  wise 
and  agreeable  way  of  giving  us  instruction,  she  made  her 
pupils  not  only  feel  that  the  more  they  learned  the 
better,  but  also  to  enjoy  their  studies.  The  first  winter  we 
were  in  Stockholm  our  parents  were  much  in  society,  and 
we  children  rarely  saw  them,  excepting  at  special  times 
in  the  day.  At  eight  o'clock  A.  M.  we  must  be  dressed 
and  go  in  to  say  'Good-morning'  to  our  mother,  who 
then  sat  in  a  little  parlor,  taking  her  coffee,  and  ready 
to  watch  us  carefully  as  we  walked  from  the  door  to  her 


166  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

side.  If  we  had  borne  ourselves  unsatisfactorily,  we 
must  go  back  and  make  a  fresh  entree,  and  then  go  to 
ray  mother,  drop  our  courtesy,  and  kiss  her  hand.  Poor 
little  Fredrika  could  never  walk  or  stand  or  sit  or  cour- 
tesy so  as  to  meet  my  mother's  full  approval,  and  had  in 
consequence  many  hard  and  trying  experiences. 

"This  ceremony  over,  we  must  pay  our  respects  to  our 
father.  As  we  entered  his  outer  room,  the  footman  was 
generally  laying  a  large  square  mat  in  the  midde  of  the . 
floor,  in  the  centre  of  which  a  chair  was  placed,  where 
my  father  seated  himself,  enveloped  in  a  great  white 
cloak  which  covered  him  down  to  his  feet.  His  hair- 
dresser in  a  light  gray  surtout,  a  comb  behind  his  ear, 
and  a  powder-puff  in  his  hand,  himself  powdered,  canu: 
in,  making  many  bows  and  scrapes  to  my  father  and  to 
us  children.  The  footman  held  the  powder-puff  while 
the  queue  was  loosened,  then  combed  and  braided.  Then 
the  hairdresser,  with  the  air  of  an  amateur,  his  head 
on  one  side,  and  genially  smiling,  and  now  and  then 
stepping  back  to  see  the  effect,  powdered  so  effectually 
my  father's  head  and  face  that  he  could  not  even  dare  to 
look  up  until  a  basin  of  water  had  been  brought  to  help 
him  to  see  his  way  out  of  his  difficulties.  This  scene 
amused  us  infinitely,  and  we  had  leave  to  stand  a  few 
moments  and  enjoy  it.  When  we  had  duly  courtesied  to 
our  father,  we  had  our  breakfast  and  went  to  Mademoi- 
selle Frumiere  for  our  school  hours  from  nine  to  one. 

"My  mother  had,  for  the  education  of  her  children, 
three  fixed,  immutable  principles :  they  were  to  grow 
up  in  ignorance  of  all  evil,  they  should  get  as  much 
knowledge  as  possible,  and  eat  as  little  as  possible.  The 
first  of  these  principles,  springing  from  my  mother's 
natural  innocence  and  blamelessness  of  character,  I  am 
thankful  to  believe  fostered  in  us  purity  in  thought  and 
tone  of  mind,  though  we,  when  we  came  to  mingle  with 
the  world,  found  ourselves  painfully  deceived,  and  saw, 


FREDRIKA  BREMER.  1(37 

one  after  another,  our  illusions  vanish.  Encouragement 
to  read  and  study  we  did  not  need.  We  learned  long 
extracts  in  French  from  the  plays  of  Madame  de  Genlis, 
which  we  declaimed.  Our  governess,  whom  we  called 
'  Bonne  Ainie,'  often  exclaimed :  '  Fredrika  is  too  tire- 
some with  the  long  lessons  she  will  learn,  which  seem 
to  have  no  end.' 

"My  mother's  third  principle,  that  we  should  eat  as 
little  as  possible  (which  principle,  as  I  have  reason  to 
know,  was  adopted  by  other  families  of  the  same  period), 
she  had  hit  on,  partly  from  the  idea  that  if  children  eat 
too  much  they  are  stupid,  and  slow  to  learn,  and  partly 
from  her  dislike  to  tall  and  fat  women.  My  mother 
read  many  romances,  and  I  fear  that  the  vision  of  seeing 
her  daughters  like  heroines  hovered  before  her  fancy. 
We  were  really  small  in  height,  and  not  too  strong, 
surely ;  and  with  the  prescribed  diet  it  could  hardly  be 
otherwise.  At  eight  A.  M.  we  had  a  little  deep  plate  of 
milk  (I  have  never  anywhere  else  seen  such  small  plates) 
and  a  not  very  large  piece  of  hard  bread.  If  we  were 
ever  so  hungry,  we  dare  not  ask  for  anything  more. 

"Dinner  was  at  two  in  my  parents'  house,  and  that 
was  a  happy  time  for  us  hungry  children.  Of  the  four 
or  five  dishes,  that,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time, 
were  all  put  on  the  table  at  once,  we  might  have  our 
share  ;  and  they  tasted  unspeakably  good.  After  dinner, 
all  assembled  in  the  parlor,  to  drink  coffee ;  we  children, 
of  course,  only  as  lookers  on.  At  four  o'clock  we  went 
to  Bonne  Amie's  room,  to  write,  cipher,  and  work.  My 
father,  who  was  indescribably  orderly,  and  particular 
that  everything  should  happen  according  to  the  minute 
by  the  clock,  kept  looking  at  his  watch,  and  nobody  must 
leave  the  room  before  it  was  precisely  four ;  then  he  dis- 
appeared himself,  to  take  his  afternoon  nap.  When  it 
was  six  o'clock,  the  footman  knocked  at  Bonne  Amie's 
door,  and  informed  us  that  tea  was  served,  and  we  all 


168  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

filed  through  the  parlor  to  the  dining-room.  We  chil- 
dren looked  on,  or  were  perhaps  allowed  a  dried  biscuit 
(scorpa),  and  after  that  we  might  play  in  the  nursery. 
At  nine  o'clock  the  family  and  guests  sat  down  to  a  warm 
supper ;  but  we  had,  at  eight,  a  little  glass  of  milk  and  a 
bit  of  hard  bread,  after  having  been  to  the  parlor,  to 
courtesy,  kiss  the  hands  of  our  parents,  and  say  good- 
night. We  slept,  both  of  us,  in  Bonne  Amie's  room,  on  a 
corner  sofa.  Fredrika  preferred  generally  to  run  round 
the  room  and  dance  with  Lena  than  to  submit  to  being 
put  at  once  to  bed." 

• 

As  time  went  on,  the  gifted  child  grew  more  mis- 
chievous and  full  of  elfish  freaks.  She  might  be 
found  cutting  a  square  piece  out  of  the  covering  of 
some  stuffed  piece  of  furniture,  and  a  match  bit  to 
supply  its  place  from  the  front  of  her  dress,  or  asking 
her  companions  to  shut  their  eyes  for  a  moment, 
which  they  did,  while  she  took  the  opportunity  to 
eat  up  some  dainties  set  out  for  her  father's  use. 
She  began  early  to  write  verses,  —  the  first  on  "  the 
moon,"  and  soon  another  on  a  woman's  proper  sphere. 
Poor  verses  they  were  truly,  but  they  indicate  the 
interest  and  enthusiasms  of  the  odd  little  girl. 

Like  Miss  Burney's,  Fredrika  Bremer's  first  book 
was  published  without  the  knowledge  of  her  father, 
and  the  secret  only  told  when  it  had  met  with  ap- 
proval by  the  public. 

Fredrika  Bremer  received,  in  time,  the  large  gold 
medal  of  the  Swedish  Academy,  with  the  inscription, 
"  For  Genius  and  Taste,"  and  was  much  admired 
in  Stockholm  for  her  talent,  her  amiable  character, 
and  her  warm  interest  in  all  efforts  for  the  poor  and 
for  the  reformation  of  the  fallen.  Her  literary  repu- 
tation at  home  was  short-lived.  Her  novels  are  now 


FREDRIKA  BREMER. 


169 


little  read  in  her  own  country,  and  have  'hardly 
a  place  among  the  works  of  standard  authors.  One 
often  meets  with  well-educated  persons  who  have 
never  read  any  of  them,  and  those  who  have  very 
possibly  shrug  their  shoulders  and  intimate  that 
they  are  books  hardly  worthy  of  mention.  For  the 
English-speaking  public,  Fredrika  Bremer  opened  a 
view  into  the  domestic  life 
of  a  country  almost  un- 
known to  them.  In  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  Howitt, 
Miss  Bremer  had  skilful 
and  gifted  translators,  and 
there  are  many  old  people 
who  still  thank  her  for  the 
hours  of  innocent  pleas- 
ure they  owe  to  her  early 
sketches  of  Swedish  life. 

But    Fredrika    Bremer 

was   not   to    be   forgotten          PREDRIKA  BKEMER. 
in  her  own  country.     Her 
sister  writes  in  the  biography  before  referred  to :  — 

"Fredrika,  in  consequence  of  her  own  experience  in 
youth  and  of  what  she  had  seen  in  society,  had  made  it 
the  aim  of  her  life  to  work  for  what  she  considered 
'  the  cause  of  oppressed  woman.'  After  her  return  from 
America,  in  1851,  it  became  her  darling  plan  to  strive 
to  labor  for  the  full  emancipation  of  the  Swedish  woman, 
her  liberation  from  the  traditional  trammels  of  her 
position  in  life,  which  Fredrika  considered  injurious, 
and'  conflicting  with  her  natural  rights.  She  wished 
woman  to  stand  on  an  equal  footing  with  man,  to  be 
allowed  to  study  in  the  highest  schools  and  academies, 
and  to  prepare  herself  to  take  positions  suitable  for 


170  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

her  in  the  service  of  the  State.  That  such  an  oppor- 
tunity was  lacking  for  women  of  uncommonly  good 
minds  and  special  gifts,  she  considered  the  greatest 
injustice.  She  was  fully  convinced  that  woman  could 
learn  all  things  as  well  as  man,  and  should  stand  on 
the  same  level,  and  be  permitted  at  public  institutions 
of  education  to  prepare  herself  to  be  teacher,  professor, 
judge,  physician,  or  officer  in  the  employ  of  the  State. 
She  prophesied  that  when  woman  was  allowed  the 
opportunity  to  attain  the  same  proficiency  in  study  and 
skill  in  art  as  was  man,  and  her  ability  and  the  need  of 
her  work  in  society  was  acknowledged,  she  would  be 
found  most  able  and  efficient  in  callings  already  exist- 
ing, or  in  those  still  to  be  opened  in  a  future  develop- 
ment of  social  order.  Fredrika  claimed  that  woman 
ought  to  have  the  same  right  as  the  man,  to  serve  her 
country  according  to  the  abilities  given  her." 

The  sister  decidedly  disapproved  of  what  she  con- 
sidered "  Fredrika's  erratic  notions,"  contested  them 
to  her  face,  and  in  the  biography  published  in  1868 
expresses  her  unwillingness  to  sanction  these  progres- 
sive ideas. 

It  is  now,  as  the  advocate  of  woman's  full  develop- 
ment for  usefulness  and  activity,  in  all  departments 
of  life  and  labor,  that  Fredrika  Bremer  is  best  known 
and  most  honored  in  her  own  land.  She  had  wisely 
said,  "  It  is  only  the  true  emancipation  that  saves  from 
the  false  one."  The  progress  in  the  direction  she 
desired  has  been  slow,  but  full  and  effectual,  in 
Sweden  ;  in  fact,  nearly  all  careers  are  now  open  to 
woman,  though  public  opinion  still  looks  doubtful 
about  her  ability  to  contend  in  the  university  and  in 
many  public  careers  with  man. 

There    have    been   in     Sweden    no  women's-rights 


FREDRIKA   BREMER.  171 

women,  so  called,  who  have  almost  uusexed  them- 
selves, storming  on  platforms  in  strange  garments, 
for  the  benefit  of  their  down-trodden  sisters,  offering 
their  own  sweet  feminine  graces  on  the  cruel  battle- 
field of  public  discussion,  while  the  more  retired 
laborers  for  home  and  children  and  aged  parents 
had  through  these  efforts  ways  of  support  opened 
for  them,  and  opportunities  of  using  great  gifts  for 
the  good  of  their  native  land. 

The  change  has  been  accomplished  in  Sweden 
slowly,  and  with  little  platform  declamation.  At  Up- 
sala,  a  gifted  girl  may  wear  her  white  student's  cap  as 
well  as  her  brother.  In  the  Academy  of  the  Arts  of 
Design  and  the  Academy  of  Music,  she  may  learn  to 
be  as  skilful  a  painter  or  musician  as  her  capabilities 
will  permit.  There  are  now  twelve  ladies  preparing  at 
Carolina  Institute  for  the  medical  profession.  The 
gifted  Eussian  lady  Sogna  Kovaleoski,  one  of  the  first 
mathematicians  of  our  day,  was,  at  the  time  of  her 
recent  death  (1892),  a  professor  in  the  University  of 
Stockholm.  In  the  literary  world  the  Swedish  women 
are  winning  their  own  laurels.  There  are  two  wise 
and  experienced  ladies  in  the  school-board  of  the 
city  of  Stockholm.  In  the  post,  railroad,  telegraph, 
and  telephone  offices,  very  many  efficient  women  are 
employed.  In  almost  every  department  of  labor  of 
head  or  hand,  woman  in  Sweden  is  taking  an  honored 
place.  She  may  preach  if  she  choose  (not  in  the  State 
churches),  or  deliver  a  lecture  or  an  address  for  any 
benevolent  purpose  or  any  public  reform,  and  be  lis- 
tened to  by  a  respectful  audience  of  both  sexes.  Co- 
education in  schools  is  rapidly  gaining  ground. 

Quietly  and  efficiently  many  superior  women  have 
been  working  with  the  pen  and  by  personal  influence 


172  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

to  bring  about  these  great  changes.  One  of  the  most 
important  agencies  in  this  work  has  been  the  Fredrika 
Bremer  Association,  which  has  its  headquarters  at 
Stockholm  (54  Drottninggatan).  This  valuable  or- 
ganization, which  perpetuates  by  its  name  the  honor 
that  is  rightly  due  to  Miss  Bremer,  has  this  year,  in 
its  published  English  circular,  explained  its  own  lead- 
ing principles  and  working  system.  From  this  circular, 
prepared  by  one  of  the  founders  of  the  association, 
Baroness  S.  Adlersparre-Leijonhufvud,  and  dedicated 
to  her  compatriots  in  America,  we  quote  freely :  — 

The  leading  principle  of  the  Fredrika  Bremer  Associa- 
tion is  to  promote,  by  the  co-operation  of  men  and 
women,  a  sound  and  steady  development  of  reforms  in 
the  condition  of  women,  morally  and  intellectually  as 
well  as  socially  and  economically. 

It  has  for  object :  — 

To  make  known  to  women  of  all  classes  the  rights  and 
duties  already  conferred  upon  them  socially  and  legally. 

To  work  for  educational  reforms  and  for  the  admission 
of  women  to  the  managing  boards  of  all  institutions 
where  girls  and  young  women  are  concerned. 

To  induce  women  to  look  upon  the  principle  of  self- 
help  as  the  only  one  to  depend  on  in  the  struggle  for 
existence.  This  is  done  by  showing  them  the  conditions 
on  which  work  can  be  obtained,  and  the  ways  to  provide 
for  the  future. 

To  enlarge  the  labor  market  for  women. 

To  take  up  any  moral  and  social  question  concerning 
women  and  their  welfare,  etc. 

One  of  the  first  cares  of  the  Association  was  to  assist 
educated  women,  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  to 
provide  for  themselves  in  times  of  sickness  by  becoming 
members  of  the  Sickr  Relief -Fund  founded  by  the  Asso- 
ciation. Lately  the  regulation  has  been  added  that  by 


FREDKIKA  BREMEK.  173 

paying  a  larger  sum  at  once,  membership  for  life  may  be 
obtained.  The  advantages  offered  by  this  fund  have 
been  more  and  more  acknowledged  by  those  for  whom  it 
was  intended. 

The  next  step  taken  by  the  Association  was  to  appoint 
a  Committee  for  collecting  money  in  order  to  form  schol- 
arships, intended  not  only  to  assist  lady-students  but  also 
women  desiring  a  technical  education  in  order  to  earn 
their  living. 

The  Committee  also  receives  and  administers  dona- 
tions, given  on  certain  conditions.  Thus,  for  instance, 
two  considerable  scholarships  are  designed  for  female 
medical  students  and  already  distributed ;  another,  in- 
tended for  members  of  the  donor's  family,  is  forming. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  lady  secretary  of  the 
Committee  has  visited  several  parts  of  the  country  to 
hold  lectures  and  awake  interest  for  this  object  of  the 
association,  and  her  efforts  have  proved  very  successful. 

Another  Committee  works  for  the  protection  of  young 
girls  of  the  laboring  classes  who  immigrate  to  Denmark, 
where  their  morality  is  often  greatly  exposed. 

A  Committee  of  great  importance  will  undoubtedly  be 
the  one,  which  is  just  now  in  organization,  and  which  has 
for  its  object  to  provide  the  country  population  with 
trained  nurses,  for  the  sick  as  well  as  for  persons  injured 
by  accidents. 

This  is  most  desirable  as,  on  account  of  our  country's 
great  extent  and  sparse  population,  medical  assistance  is 
often  out  of  reach. 

The  nurses  engaged  by  the  association  for  this  purpose, 
have  to  go  through  a  training  course  of  surgery  con- 
ducted by  an  able  lady-surgeon  and  to  practise  a  certain 
time  as  nurses  at  a  hospital. 

Experience  having  shown  that  a  great  many  of  the 
story-books  for  children  and  youth  are  by  no  means  fit 
for  them,  but  often  do  more  harm  than  good,  the  associa- 


174  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE 

tion  has  appointed  a  Committee  to  make  a  selection  of 
such  books  as  can  be  recommended  to  parents  and  teachers 
as  offering  good  and  wholesome  reading  for  their  children 
and  pupils. 

The  Committee,  who  makes  it  a  point  to  read  all  the 
books  in  question,  publishes  catalogues  and  arranges  ex- 
hibitions of  such  as  are  considered  recommendable. 

To  an  editorial  Committee,  which  appoints  a  lady  edi- 
tor, is  intrusted  the  publishing  of  "  Dagny,"  a  Review  for 
social  and  literary  interests.  This  publication  may  be 
considered  as  a  successor  to  the  "Home  Review,"  which 
it  followed  immediately ;  and  like  this  it  is  an  advocate 
for  all  questions  belonging  to  the  program  of  the  Fred- 
rika  Bremer  Association. 

It  may  thus  be  said  to  prepare  the  soil  for  the  seeds 
planted  and  nursed  by  care  of  the  Association. 

Besides  the  above  mentioned  Committees  there  are 
some  others,  such  as  on  Dress-reform  and  on  Home- 
studies,  whose  work  is  organized  on  the  American  plan. 

By  trying  to  raise  the  standard  of  women  the  Associa- 
tion hopes  to  benefit  society  at  large,  confirming  at 
the  same  time  the  truth  of  the  principle  of  Fredrika 
Bremer,  — 

"/#  is  only  true  emancipation  saves  from  the  false  one." 

So  Fredrika  Bremer,  —  the  fearless,  self-sacrificing 
friend  of  her  sex,  —  though  dead,  still  lives  and  labors 
for  her  sisters  in  the  much  loved  land  of  her  fore- 
fathers. 


THE   DEAN'S   REBUKE.  175 


THE  DEAN'S  REBUKE. 

SOME  years  since,  an  earnest,  warm-hearted,  zealous 
old  dean  announced  in  the  Cathedral  that  on  a  cer- 
tain day  he  would  publicly  rebuke  the  national  sins 
of  Sweden.  A  large  audience  assembled  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  in  a  spacious  hall,  generally  used  by 
the  dissenters  as  a  place  of  worship.  In  the  high 
pulpit  stood  the  white-haired  dean,  his  Hashing  dark 
eyes  boding  no  good  to  evil-doers.  He  did  not  parley 
or  mince  matters  any  more  than  did  Nathan  of  old, 
but  stated  at  once  that  the  national  sins  of  Sweden 
were  drunkenness,  avarice,  and  profanity.  This  may 
be  true  with  regard  to  drunkenness  ;  but  might  not 
the  same  be  said,  to  their  shame,  of  most  civilized 
countries  ?  In  vine-growing  Switzerland  intemper- 
ance is  the  destruction  of  the  villagers.  Perched  on 
some  hillside  is  a  cluster  of  houses,  homes  of  hard- 
working peasants.  Those  houses  have  cellars  stored 
with  wine ;  and  when  there  is  nothing  to  do  in  the 
vineyards,  the  product  of  last  year's  yield  is  by  many 
a  poor  man  consumed  with  or  without  his  simple  food, 
and  to  find  him  sober  at  evening  is  often  an  excep- 
tional occurrence. 

In  Stockholm  the  police  are  so  efficient  that  it 
is  rare  to  see  in  the  day-time  a  drunken  man  or 
woman  in  the  streets.  In  the  late  hours  of  the  night 
it  must  be  otherwise,  as  the  newspapers  sometimes 
report  brutal  assaults,  and  even  fights  ending  in  murder, 


176  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

with  almost   always   the    excuse   of  intoxication  for 
the  offenders. 

The  Swede  is  generally  quiet  "  in  his  cups  "  by  day, 
and  goes  somewhere  to  sleep  off  their  effects,  if  it  be 
but  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  or  beside  a  sheltering  wall ; 
but  if  he  is  roused  and  made  angry  while  in  this  con- 
dition, a  shillalah  would  not  satisfy  him,  —  he  must 


SKARA    CATHEDRAL. 


have  a  knife  in  his  hand,  driven  home  too  often 
with  deadly  intent. 

Of  course,  ladies  rarely  see  anything  of  intoxication 
among  so-called  gentlemen  anywhere.  In  every  large 
city  they  who  have  ample  means  and  a  scanty  allow- 
ance of  conscience  can  hercf  together,  to  carouse  and 
"  make  night  hideous ; "  and  there  are  many  men 
whom  great  gifts,  high  station,  and  a  long  purse  can- 
not keep  back  from  a  drunkard's  grave. 

Really  to  see   drunkenness   in    Sweden,  a  stranger 


THE   DEAN'S  REBUKE.  177 

must  be  in  a  small  city  on  a  market-day.  Yet  here 
the  stranger  often  judges  falsely.  The  laborer,  the 
peasant,  the  market-woman,  the  purchaser,  throng 
to  town  on  that  day,  taking  perhaps  a  free  indul- 
gence in  something  intoxicating,  as  one  of  the  privi- 
leges of  the  occasion,  and  not  by  any  means  to  be 
repeated  until  the  next  market-day  comes  round. 
These  poor  victims  are  to  be  seen  sleeping  in  their 
wagons,  while  the  trusty  horses  take  them  safely 
home. 

Everybody  must  be  able  to  show  something  bought 
on  a  "Great  Market-day."  The  public  square  is 
then  the  centre  of  attraction  for  miles  around.  The 
picture  comes  up  from  the  past,  of  a  little  country- 
woman elated,  we  trust,  only  with  the  joys  of  the 
trip,  driving  rapidly  over  a  long  bridge,  sitting  up- 
right in  the  midst  of  her  clumsy  little  wagon,  with 
her  purchases  heaped  about  her.  A  small,  sturdy 
cow,  in  a  primitive  harness,  was  acting  as  the  locomo- 
tive power,  but  was  not  moving  with  the  slow  dig- 
nified lounge  of  the  ox,  but  cantering  at  full  speed, 
as  if  her  maternal  instincts  told  her  that  her  only 
child  was  wailing  for  her  at  home.  That  was  doubt- 
less a  woman  of  resources,  not  to  be  easily  kept  at 
home  on  Great  Market-day;  and  her  return  drive 
was  a  compressed  triumphal  procession.  • 

Sad  sights  have  been  seen  on  a  market-day  in  a 
small  town,  —  a  party  of  boys,  all  intoxicated,  and 
in  one  case  a  wretched  mother  laughing  a  loud  drunk- 
ard's laugh,  as  she  saw  that  her  young  son  was  in 
the  same  condition  as  herself. 

In  Stockholm  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  lad 
comes  to  an  industrial  school  plainly  showing  that 
he  has  been  drinking,  and  once  a  little  girl  pupil 

12 


178  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LITE. 

appeared  fairly  intoxicated.  The  poor  child  had 
been  turned  out  of  her  miserable  home,  and  had  been 
almost  two  days  without  food.  Some  passer-by  had 
given  her  a  little  money,  which .  in  her  sinking  condi- 
tion she  fancied  would  be  better  spent  for  whiskey 
than  for  bread. 

In  Sweden  a  profuse  use  of  wine,  punch,  and 
whiskey  prevails  on  all  important  social  occasions, — 
at  baptisms,  weddings,  and  funerals,  at  formal  dinners 
and  suppers,  and  even  at  the  family  meals  in  many 
old-fashioned  homes.  Before  dinner  it  is  not  un- 
common to  find  "  something  strong "  at  the  little 
table  (hors  d'ceuvre  or  smorgasbord)  where  some  spe- 
cially attractive  dainties  always  appear,  as"  if  to  show 
the  guest  that  "  appetite  comes  with  the  eating  "  and 
the  drinking.  This  custom  is  much  like  that  of  the 
"  bitters  "  that  long  ago  stood  on  the  American  side- 
board, —  but  with  the  addition  of  food,  in  the  land  of 
the  Gottenburg  System. 

To  be  a  total  abstainer  is  unfashionable  and  in- 
elegant in  Sweden,  a  fact  which  perhaps  works  more 
against  the  temperance  movement  in  higher  circles 
than  any  other  cause.  To  be  so  discourteous  as  to 
decline  to  drink  with  the  host  is  more  than  most 
Swedes  can  venture  upon.  Among  the  humbler 
classes  the  same  old  prejudices  prevail ;  but  there 
is  now  a  vigorous  effort  to  throw  off  those  fearfully 
dangerous  social  bonds,  and  with  ever  increasing 
success.  In  spheres  where  "  to  be  vulgar  "  is  not  such 
a  bugbear,  the  step  to  sign  the  pledge  is  more  easily 
taken,  and  generally  most  sacredly  kept,  all  honor 
to  the  hardy  men  who  can  resist  their  strong  bodily 
temptation  and  the  scoffs  or  persuasions  of  not  over- 
courteous  companions.  There  are  a  few  honored  and 


THE   DEAN'S   REBUKE.  179 

independent  men,  in  the  higher  circles,  who  dare 
to  be  singular  for  the  good  of  their  fellow-citizens, 
as  well  as  for  a  sure  protection  against  their  own 
possible  fall,  or  that  of  some  member  of  their  grow- 
ing families.  Not  long  since,  an  eminent  Swede 
entertaining  at  his  table  a  guest  from  Finland  said, 
"  I  cannot  offer  you  anything  stronger  than  ale,  for 
I  am  now  a  temperance  man."  Visiting,  later,  the 
same  friend  in  Finland,  the  Swede,  now  the  guest, 
was  astonished  when  his  host  quizzically  said,  "  I 
cannot  offer  you  even  ale,  for  I  have  become  a  total- 
abstainer.  Your  example  made  such  an  impression 
upon  me  that  I  took  the  step  when  I  came  home." 

Stockholm  is,  to  the  country-people  of  the  vicinity 
and  the  fisherman  of  the  coast  and  the  clustering 
islands,  what  Great  Market-day  is  to  the  rustics 
of  an  inland  region.  One  honest  fisherman  about 
whom  we  happen  to  know,  while  temperate  at  home, 
was  sure  to  go  wrong  when  he  went  up  to  the  capital 
to  sell  his  fish  and  make  his  usual  purchases  of  house- 
hold goods.  His  young  daughter,  little  more  than 
a  child,  was  finally  sent  with  him  to  keep  him  out 
of  trouble.  He  started  one  morning  with  her  for 
the  long  sail.  Once  arrived,  he  soon  sold  his  fish, 
and  had  his  pocket  full  of  loose  silver.  According 
to  the  Gottenburg  System,  he  would  find  food  and 
drink  at  the  same  place,  in  an  upper  room  he  knew 
well.  There  he  drank  more  than  he  ate,  and  soon, 
in  bravado,  dashed  down  his  handfuls  of  silver 
on  the  rude  table  before  him.  It  rolled  away,  of 
course,  in  all  directions ;  but  the  anxious  daughter 
picked  up  every  piece,  paid  the  reckoning,  and  then 
hurried  her  father  away.  On  the  stone  stairway  he 
slipped  and  fell  headlong,  struck  his  head,  and  lay 


180  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

senseless  and  bleeding.  "  He  is  dead !  He  is  dead ! " 
screamed  the  little  girl,  in  desperation.  No  help 
came  from  the  room  above,  but  a  street  crowd  soon 
pressed  in  through  the  open  door  below,  —  among 
them  a  gentleman  with  a  policeman.  The  latter  ex- 
amined the  father,  and  pronounced  him  only  in  a 
drunken  swoon,  and  talked  of  taking  him  at  once  to 
the  police-station.  "  For  shame !  "  said  the  gentle- 
man ;  *  remember  the  little  girl. "  Turning  to  the 
pretty  young  thing,  he  said,  "  Where  were  you  going, 
child,  when  this  happened  ?"  She  answered,  simply, 
that  her  father  had  sold  their  fish,  and  they  were 
going  to  start  for  home  in  their  sloop,  that  lay  not 
far  away.  The  gentleman  called  a  carriage,  had  the 
drunken  man  and  his  daughter  put  in  it,  and  sitting 
down  with  them,  soon  saw  them  safe  aboard  their 
own  boat.  "  Have  you  anything  more  to  do  in 
town  ?  "  he  asked  hastily.  "  No, "  was  the  answer. 
"  Up  sail  and  off  then  before  your  father  wakes ! "  he 
said  authoritatively.  He  waited  to  see  that  she 
understood  how  to  manage  the  boat,  and  then  left  her 
without  giving  his  name.  She  courtesied  her  thanks, 
but  never  knew  who  had  so  befriended  her.  The 
whole  affair  made  a  strong  impression  on  the  fisher- 
man. Before  his  good  wife  died,  two  years  later,  she 
had  the  joy  of  seeing  her  husband  not  only  a  temper- 
ance man  in  principle  and  practice,  but  a  decided, 
devout  Christian. 

The  Swedish  historians  tell  us  that  the  "  vice  of 
intemperance  had  taken  deep  root  among  the  Swedish 
nation,  particularly  among  the  people  in  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  in  consequence  of  a  too  great  pro- 
duction and  consumption  of  whiskey.  Gustaf  III. 
.ordained  that  there  should  be  no  private  distilling, 


THE   DEAN'S   REBUKE.  181 

as  had  been  heretofore  allowed,  but  that  all  distil- 
leries should  belong  to  and  be  under  the  crown 
This  he  did,  not  merely  to  advance  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance, but  to  increase  the  royal  revenue,  but  here 
he  had  wholly  made  a  mistake.  The  State  was  not 
profited,  and  the  consumption  of  whiskey  increased 
in  the  land. "  The  proposed  reform  produced  too 
universal  dissatisfaction. 

In  1853-54  the  Eiksdag  took  measures  "  to  check 
the  vice  of  intemperance  that  was  threatening  to  de- 
stroy fundamentally  the  Swedish  people. "  A  higher 
tax  was  put  upon  distilling  whiskey,  and  both  its 
production  and  consumption  were  materially  reduced. 
During  the  present  reign  a  strong  temperance  move- 
ment has  sprung  from  the  people  themselves,  rather 
than  from  the  throne,  the  Riksdag,  or  the  higher 
classes.  The  great  effort  now  of  the  friends  of  tem- 
perance is  to  influence  public  opinion  in  the  upper 
ranks  of  life. 

The  Swedish  government  has  appointed,  at  various 
times  during  the  present  reign,  royal  commissions 
to  advance  the  cause  of  temperance.  One  of  these 
commissions  has  published  valuable  pamphlets  and 
books  to  awaken  all  classes  to  the  dangers  and  con- 
sequences of  intemperance.  In  one  of  these  issues 
there  are  various  quotations  from  Swedish  authors,  — 
passages  calculated  to  force  home  the  importance  of 
the  temperance  work.  We  quote  sparingly  from  the 
full  selection. 

"In  a  country  where  the  old  customs  of  the  people 
are  the  foundation  of  the  whole  established  system  of 
laws,  a  vice,  when  it  becomes  a  custom,  has  a  kind  of  legal 
power."  — F.  T.  BERG  (b.  1779,  d.  1848),  physician,  head 
of  the  Statistical  Department. 


182  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

"  Alcohol  is  not  nourishment ;  it  is  a  stimulant  which 
the  body  tries  to  throw  off  by  the  breath  and  ever}r  other 
means."  —  J.  J.  BERZELIUS  (b.  1779,  d.  1848),  the  great 
chemist. 

"The  love  of  strong  drink,  always  in  the  beginning 
imperceptible,  and  in  the  end  unconquerable,"  etc. — 
Major  CARL  EKENSTAM  (b.  1798,  d.  1879). 

"  In  this  struggle  for  the  good  of  one's  native  land  and 
all  humanity,  there  is  no  neutrality.  Either  one  must, 
by  principle  and  practice,  work  for  the  cause,  or  one 
must  be  in  some  way  its  opposer  and  adversary."  — 
C.  A.  FORSELL  (b.  1807,  d.  1869),  clergyman  and  teacher. 

"If  any  invention  of  man  may  be  considered  prompted 
by  the  powers  of  evil,  it  is  without  doubt  that  which  of 
grain,  that  the  earth  with  the  blessing  of  God  bears  for 
nourishment,  prepares  a  dangerous  drink  of  such  doubt- 
ful advantage  when  used  moderately,  and  which  in  its 
misuse  does  more  harm  than  the  greatest  public  scourge, 
and  not  only  paves  the  way  to  hell,  but  makes  a  hell  on 
earth."  — Bishop  FRANZEN  (b.  1772,  d.  1847). 

"  It  has  been  said  of  us  Swedes  that  we  are  civilized 
Lapps ;  and  if  there  be  anything  that  can  show  that  the 
Lapp  peeps  out  in  the  midst  of  our  civilization,  it  is  the 
coarse  craving  for  intoxicating  burning  drinks,  which  has 
obtained  the  sanction  of  fireside  custom  chiefly  through 
the  example  of  the  educated  classes  of  society."  —  Major 
J.  H.  HAGELEM  (b.  1797,  d.  1871). 

"  If  I  should  reckon  up  all  the  diseases  that  physicians 
have  found  to  have  their  origin  in  drunkenness,  there 
would  be  no  end  to  my  speech."  —  CARL  VON  LINN£ 
(Linnaeus,  b.  1707,  d.  1778). 

"  I  know  no  price  which  I  should  not  be  ready  to  pay 
for  the  deliverance  of  the  Swedish  nation  from  destruc- 
tion by  intoxicating  drinks."  —  OSCAR  I.,  King  of  Sweden 
(b.  1799,  d.  1859). 

"The  powers  of  our  government  ordain  quarantines 
and  other  precautions  against  the  introduction  and  pro- 


THE  DEAN'S  REBUKE.  183 

pagation  of  contagious  diseases,  enforce  vaccination  to 
keep  smallpox  from  ravaging  and  destroying  us,  provide 
means  to  aid  the  needy  in  the  regions  where  there  are 
poor  harvests  and  famine,  and  maintain  by  land  and  sea 
our  defences  against  foreign  invasion.  Has  any  pesti- 
lence been  as  destructive  or  shown  as  destructive  conse- 
quences as  the  misuse  of  intoxicating  drinks  ?  .  .  .  Why 
are  not  some  thoroughgoing  means  put  in  operation  to 
attack  and  conquer  this  internal  enemy  ?  "  —  MAGXUS 
Huss  (b.  1807,  d.  1890),  general  medical  director,  phy- 
sician, and  philanthropist. 

"  Before  God,  these  carousers  at  the  overloaded  table 
or  with  the  toddy-glass  are  most  certainly  no  better  than 
their  counterparts  in  the  gutter."  —  Bishop  VON  SCHEELE 
(b.  1838). 

"  There  are  many  to  say  that  their  example  makes  the 
world  neither  better  nor  worse.  That  the  world  is  no 
better  because  they  have  used  intoxicating  drinks  we 
are  all  convinced.  The  experiment  is  still  to  be  tried 
whether  their  giving  up  of  this  practice  can  be  of  use." 
-  Dean  SONDIN  (b.  1807,  d.  1885). 

"  The  poor  man  arranges  his  meal  according  to  his  con- 
science and  his  convictions,  but  the  rich  is  dependent 
entirely  on  the  exactions  of  his  guests  and  his  associates. 
If  every  course  is  not  washed  down  with  its  established 
kind  of  wine,  the  host  is  considered  to  have  violated 
hospitality's  first  and  most  important  fundamental 
laws."  — Bishop  LANDGREN  (b.  1810,  d.  1888). 

"  If  in  these  last  twenty  years  youth  had  been  met  in 
the  'better'  circles  by  the  opinion  that  it  did  not  be- 
come an  honorable  man,  a  good  citizen,  a  sincere  friend 
of  mankind,  a  true  Christian,  to  drink,  how  many  fathers 
had  escaped  sinking  with  sorrow  into  the  grave,  how 
many  mothers  had  been  spared  a  broken  heart!"  —  Dean 
PETER  WIESELGREX  (b.  1800,  d.  1877),  Sweden's  most 
prominent  champion  of  temperance. 

"We  have  learned  with  distress  how  distinctively  in- 


184  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

temperance  has  acted  upon  the  extent  and  character  of 
crime."  —  KARL  XIV.  JOHAN,  King  of  Sweden  (b.  1764, 
d.  1844). 

"  Now  the  statistics  from  various  lands  show  that  out 
of  one  hundred  prisoners,  from  forty  to  eighty  attribute 
their  fall  to  intoxicating  drinks."  —  SIGFRID  WIESEL- 
GREN  (b.  1843),  General  Director  of  the  Prison  De- 
partment. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  advocates  of  temperance  in 
Sweden  have  allowed  their  trumpets  to  give  no  uncer- 
tain sound. 

Another  publication  of  a  late  Royal  Commission 
for  the  promotion  of  temperance  has  issued  a  card 
entitled,  — 

An  Approximate  Estimate  of  the  Annual  Expense  of  the 
Swedish  People  for  the  Purposes  mentioned  below. 

Bread 160  million  crowns. 

Milk 100  " 

Alcoholic  drinks  and  ale     .    .      80  " 

Sugar  and  syrup 45  " 

Potatoes 40  " 

Coffee,  tea,  and  chocolate    .     .       35  "  " 

Tobacco 20  "  " 

Woollen  goods 80  "  " 

Cotton  goods 30  "  " 

Linen  goods 15  "  " 

The  country's  defence     ...      40  "  " 

Interest  on  national  debt     .    .      10  "  " 

Foreign  missions ^  " 

Royal  Temperance  Commission,  1892. 

The  card  is  adorned  with  a  representation  of  the 
above  statement  in  broad  colored  lines,  varying  in 
length  in  proportion  to  the  sums  stated,  bread  being 


THE   DEAN'S  REBUKE.  .    185 

the  standard.  The  Gottenburg  System  has  done 
much  to  decrease  intemperance  in  Sweden  by  com- 
pelling food  to  be  sold  with  intoxicating  drinks 
retailed  in  small  quantities,  and  by  making  the  sale 
of  intoxicants  the  business  of  the  public  author- 
ities ;  the  profits  being  spent  for  the  public  good, 
the  hired  salesmen  receiving  only  their  appointed, 
fixed  salaries. 

As  to  the  second  article  of  the  good  dean's  indict- 
ment against  the  Swedish  people,  it  must  be  men- 
tioned that  Swedes  themselves  generally  insist  that 
the  sin  of  the  nation,  especially  in  the  upper  classes, 
is  extravagance  rather  than  avarice.  In  humble  life, 
when  intemperance  does  not  destroy  the  character, 
the  Swedes  are  generally  contented,  industrious,  eco- 
nomical, and  thrifty.  This  statement  may  be  readily 
substantiated  by  referring  to  the  well-known  charac- 
ter of  the  Scandinavian  emigrants  who  have  peopled 
so  large  a  part  of  the  great  Northwest. 

Profanity  does  not  mean  the  same  thing  in  Sweden 
as  in  America.  It  is  not  a  light  and  irreverent  use 
of  the  name  of  the  Deity,  but  rather  the  mention  of 
the  Evil  One,  by  his  distinctive  appellation,  or  some 
of  the  various  substitutes  or  contractions  by  which 
he  is  indicated.  This  latter  practice,  in  Sweden  as 
elsewhere,  is  considered  to  prove  a  low  standard  of 
manners  and  morals  in  the  speaker,  and  is  what  is 
technically  called  swearing. 

Strange  to  say,  many  Swedes,  like  the  French,  use 
the  name  of  the  Deity  lightly  and  freely,  as  an  excla- 
mation in  common  conversation.  This  is  especially 
true  of  old-fashioned  people,  whose  life  habits  were 
fixed  long  ago.  A  respectable  elderly  lady  or  gentle- 
man, otherwise  irreproachable,  may  be  heard  at  some 


186  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

slight  disaster  coupling  together  in  an  exclamation 
the  holy  names  by  which  the  apostle  Thomas  acknowl- 
edged his  belief  in  his  Divine  Master.  Among 
the  young  Christians  of  the  present  generation  such 
offences  are  never  committed. 

As  to  the  customs  of  the  men  of  Sweden  with 
regard  to  swearing,  it  is  impossible  to  take  any 
ground.  Habitual  swearers  in  most  countries  con- 
demn the  practice  by  showing  that  they  consider  it 
inadmissible  in  the  presence  of  ladies. 

The  good  dean's  catalogue  of  national  sins  would 
apply  in  a  measure  to  all  civilized  countries,  and 
was  in  a  way  a  new  form  of  the  old  classification 
of  the  enemies  renounced  at  baptism,  — the  sins  of  the 
body,  the  temptations  of  outward  life,  and  of  the  evil 
heart  within,  — from  which  enemies  may  the  whole 
Christian  world  be  collectively  and  individually 
delivered ! 


A  PAIR  OF  POOR-HOUSES.  187 


A   PAIR   OF   POOE-HOUSES. 

NAME-DAYS  are  celebrated  in  Sweden  as  much  as 
birthdays.  These  festivals  stand  marked  in  the 
almanac;  and  so  there  are  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  extra  chances  of  having  a  day  when  one  is  to  be 
specially  feted. 

As  Swedes  often  have  three  baptismal  names,  the 
probability  is  increased  of  being  honorably  mentioned 
in  the  almanac.  In  this  catalogue  stand  not  only 
apostles  and  martyrs,  the  saints  of  old,  the  Chris- 
tian Fathers,  but  Martin  Luther,  Knut,  the  Seven 
Sleepers,  and  all  the  present  royal  family  of  Sweden. 

Oscar  Day  is  on  the  1st  of  December ;  and  it  is  a 
favorite  joke  that  it  is  usually  accompanied  by  a  fall- 
ing of  stars,  the  breasts  on  which  they  are  to  find  rest 
being  indicated  by  the  king,  and  duly  published  in 
the  official  government  organ  as  orders  conferred. 

One  Oscar  Day  has  left  for  itself  a  special  memory. 
A  loyal  bishop,  adorned  with  his  official  cross  and 
chain  and  wearing  his  "stars,"  held  a  service  in  a 
chapel  in  celebration  of  the  day.  Devout  prayers  were 
made  for  the  "king  and  all  in  authority,"  followed 
by  the  singing  of  Luther's  psalm,  "  Our  God  is  our 
strong  fortress, "  which  has  for  the  Swedes  much  the 
character  of  a  national  hymn. 

The  patriotic  little  congregation  dispersed  with 
specially  friendly  greetings  and  nods  and  pats  in  the 
vestibule.  A  kindly  Swede  had  ordered  an  uncom- 


188  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

monly  good  supper  to  be  given  to  the  inmates  of  the 
poor-house  of  the  city  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 

The  poor-house  proved  to  be  like  an  elastic  little 
red  cottage,  that  had  been  simply  stretched  out  to 
an  extraordinary  length.  The  sun  had  set  at  about 
three  o'clock,  and  it  was  quite  dark  when  we  arrived 
on  the  premises.  Entering  unannounced  with  the 
giver  of  the  feast,  we  groped  our  way,  as  best  we 
could,  by  the  light  that  came  through  the  small  win- 
dows from  the  street  without.  The  corridor  extended 
along  the  side  of  the  whole  building;  it  was  paved 
with  cobble-stones,  as  if  it  were  a  public  thorough- 
fare. We  looked  into  a  room.  There  we  saw  by  the 
dim  candle  a  man  in  one  bed  in  the  last  stages  of 
consumption ;  in  another  was  a  sick  child,  who  dived 
deep  down  under  the  covering  at  our  approach.  In 
a  second  room  were  grisly-haired  men  and  women, 
whose  faces  bore  the  record  of  want  and  sin.  Through 
the  partition  wall  we  heard  the  sound  of  exquisite 
singing,  as  of  some  wonderful,  supernatural  bird. 
We  went  in  search  of  the  singer.  It  was  a  tiny,  trim 
little  girl,  who  seemed  to  warble  as  if  that  were  her 
natural,  untaught  mode  of  expression.  We  were  in 
the  land  of  Jenny  Lind  and  Christina  Nilsson.  In 
the  room  where  the  little  singer  was  wandering 
about,  sat  a  half-dozen  old  crones  around  a  table, 
enjoying  the  comfortable  meal  that  had  been  pro- 
vided for  them.  One  of  them  had  been  moved  to 
make  a  couplet  in  honor  of  the  giver,  which  she 
repeated  for  us  after  the  requisite  amount  of  persua- 
sion. A  young  girl  stood  shyly  off  at  one  side,  not 
joining  the  group  at  the  table.  She  was  a  "  sinner, " 
who  even  in  that  last  resort  of  poverty  was  not  usually 
allowed  to  be  at  the  table  with  the  old  women,  who 


A  PAIR  OF  POOR-HOUSES.  189 

considered  themselves  respectable  though  poor.  One 
of  these  withered,  broken-down  workers  looked  at  the 
girl  a  moment,  and  then  suddenly  made  a  place  for 
her  on  the  bench  where  she  herself  was  sitting,  and 
said  impulsively,  "  Come,  sit  down  with  us,  child,  for 
it  is  the  king's  name-day!"  Perhaps  in  the  old 
woman's  mind  there  ran  a  vague  thought  of  the  mercy 
of  the  King  of  kings  towards  all  his  wandering 
children. 

At  the  hotel,  that  evening,  there  was  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  scene  at  the  poor-house.  There  was 
a  grand  ball  in  the  king's  honor,  and  music,  and 
the  clinking  of  glasses,  until  far  into  the  night, 
when  there  came  a  hush,  and  then  the  stumbling  up- 
stairs of  late  carousers. 

Years  passed  by,  and  another  visit  to  the  poor- 
house  of  the  same  little  city  was  proposed  and  ac- 
cepted. The  poor-house  still  by  name,  it  stood  now 
far  outside  the  streets  of  the  town,  with  a  wide,  well- 
kept  stretch  of  land  around  it.  There  trees  were 
growing,  and  potatoes  and  a  variety  of  useful  winter 
supplies  had  been  harvested.  Within  all  was  light 
and  cheerful,  and  most  admirably  arranged.  Neatly 
dressed,  contented-looking  old  women  were  sitting 
by  white-curtained  windows,  with  usually  a  blos- 
soming plant  or  two  on  the  sill.  Each  had  her  own 
simple  but  comfortable  chair,  and  a  small  table,  on 
which  some  devotional  books  were  carefully  piled. 
They  all  looked  so  cheerful  and  were  so  glad  to  see 
us  that  the  visit  was  really  a  pleasure. 

It  was  sadder  to  look  in  on  some  half-witted  in- 
mates picking  wool,  and  some  young  offenders  in  a 
carefully  closed  room.  We  came  into  one  part  of 
the  building  where  all  seemed  exceedingly  still ;  but 


190  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

we  had  hardly  entered  a  large  room  before  a  voice 
called  out  from  one  of  the  beds,  "  I  am  ninety  years 
old ;  I  am  blind ;  I  am  cousin  to  the  dentist  in 
town. "  The  old  bed-ridden  woman  having  brought 
forward  her  claims  for  proper  attention  was  duly 
talked  to,  and  was  perhaps  cheered  by  the  variety  the 
interview  brought  into  her  narrow  life,  as  her  zest 
for  conversation  seemed  by  no  means  diminished  by 
age. 

The  side  of  the  house  occupied  by  the  men  was 
less  attractive.  They  looked  restless  and  dissat- 
isfied. One  of  them,  a  blind  fiddler,  was  said  to  be 
incorrigible  in  his  perpensity  to  roam,  and  was  always 
stealing  off,  even  in  winter,  for  secret  expeditions, 
to  be  brought  back  again  by  the  proper  authorities, 
or  by  cold  and  hunger,  to  the  comfortable  quarters 
which  he  had  deserted. 

The  whole  establishment  was  in  excellent  order. 
Even  the  cellars  were  worth  showing.  As  a  part  of 
the  stores  of  fuel,  there  were  heaps  of  balls  made  from 
wet  turf,  patted  with  the  hand,  and  thoroughly  dried 
for  use.  In  another  vault  were  stored  the  Swedish 
turnips,  that  look  in  the  autumn  fields  of  Germany, 
an  imaginative  traveller  might  say,  like  the  bleeding 
heads  of  massacred  babies. 

In  the  dining-room  the  table  was  spread ;  simple 
fare  it  was,  indeed,  but  plentiful.  A  glass  of  ale 
was  provided  for  each  inmate. 

The  Swedes  are  perhaps  slow  to  see  the  necessity  of 
reform  in  any  department ;  but  when  they  undertake 
the  work,  it  is  thoroughly  done. 

Within  a  few  years  there  has  been  an  immense 
advance  in  the  zeal,  energy,  kindliness,  and  good 
sense  shown  in  all  efforts  for  the  poor.  The  Charity 


A  PAIR  OF  POOR-HOUSES.  191 

Organization  Society  (Associated  Charities)  is  in  full 
force  in  Stockholm,  and  doing  an  admirable  work 
under  the  direction  of  most  skilful  and  large-hearted 
managers.  The  ladies  who  would  years  ago  have 
been  simply  ornaments  of  society  and  the  centres  of 
happy  home  life,  are  now  willing,  without  neglecting 
other  duties,  to  give  much  time  to  this  noble  sys- 
tematizing and  making  sensible  and  really  lastingly 
useful  efforts  for  raising  the  poor  to  a  higher  level, 
instead  of  merely  supplying  their  immediate  and 
purely  bodily  needs. 

There  are  many  other  benevolent  associations  which 
are  doing  much  in  the  same  direction,  and  acting  in 
concert  with  this  general  society.  Deaconesses  have 
their  work  in  their  own  institutions,  in  hospitals, 
and  refuges  for  the  unfortunate  and  guilty,  in  creches 
for  the  children  of  working-women,  as  well  as  in  the 
homes  of  the  poor  in  the  parishes  of  the  capital. 

One  noble  lady  lives  in  a  lodging-house  for  the 
poor,  where,  under  her  supervision,  small  apartments 
and  single  rooms  are  let  at  a  moderate  price.  The 
wild,  reckless  inmates,  "  uncanny  to  others,  are  gentle 
to  her, "  and  show  her  in  some  cases  a  most  grateful 
devotion. 

The  "  slum  sisters "  of  the  Salvation  Army  are 
doing  a  similar  good  work  in  a  slightly  different 
way. 

There  are  free  Industrial  Schools  (Arbetstagor,  work 
cottages,  so  called,  though  held  in  city  buildings), 
where  refined  ladies,  old  and  young,  give  their  services 
to  teach  poor  children  during  the  winter  evenings  all 
sorts  of  useful  handiwork.  A  shoemaker  shows  them 
how  to  make  and  mend  shoes,  and  for  carpentry 
they  have  a  regular  mechanic,  as  well  as  ladies 


192  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

trained  to  teach  the  finer  wood-work.  Some  of  the 
pupils  make  pretty  and  useful  articles  of  bast,  or 
hemp  mats,  or  knit,  or  mend  and  make  over  gar- 
ments that  are  sent  in  by  the  benevolently  disposed. 
The  boys  are  often  very  unruly  at  first,  for  they  are 
from  the  lowest  of  the  city  populace;  but  kindness 
and  steady  discipline  usually  make  them,  at  last, 
thankful  and  industrious. 

Strange  stories  come  to  us  from  these  schools  of  the 
early  depravity  of  these  poor  waifs,  brought  about 
by  professional  begging,  or  peddling  by  night  in  the 
streets  and  at  the  doors  of  places  of  amusement. 
The  money  so  easily  gained  is  often  thrown  away  for 
a  momentary  and  destructive  indulgence.  Some  of 
these  boys  have  strange  freaks,  betaking  themselves 
to  the  woods  for  weeks  in  the  spring,  to  live  in  the 
trees,  anywhere  or  anyhow,  rather  than  under  a  roof. 

Christian  love  and  Christian  work  are  doing  much 
for  these  little  outcasts ;  but  more  organized  effort  for 
the  rescue  of  street  children  "is  needed  in  Stockholm, 
as  in  the  other  great  cities  of  the  world. 


A  SWEDISH  WINTER.  198 


A -SWEDISH   WINTER 

You  wake  on  a  cold  winter  morning  in  a  Swedish 
country  home  ;  the  thermometer  is  below  zero  (Fahren- 
heit). The  house  gets  slowly  warm ;  hot  coffee  and 
hot  porridge  are  most  welcome.  You  look  out  of  the 
window.  There  has  been  a  fresh  fall  of  snow  in  the 
night ;  the  walks  inside  and  outside  the  enclosure  are 
already  cleared ;  the  snow-plough  has  been  at  work. 
It  is  but  a  great  A,  made  of  solid  timber,  and  drawn 
by  a  strong  rope  at  the  point  by  one  sturdy  man,  but 
it  is  thoroughly  effective.  There  out  in  the  road  is 
its  larger  sister ;  it  has  two  bars  across  the  A  instead 
of  one,  and  a  pair  of  upright  posts  at  the  base,  against 
which  two  men  are  vigorously  pushing,  while  two 
more  are  sitting  on  the  bars  to  keep  the  whole  affair 
down,  and  to  be  themselves  ready  to  help  in  any 
emergency.  Four  strong  oxen,  guided  by  rope  reins, 
are  pulling  in  front ;  while  a  free  pair  are  led  behind 
the  plough,  to  be  substituted,  when  necessary,  for 
two  of  the  workers  in  front.  The  road  will  soon  be 
as  well  cleared  as  the  sidewalks. 

The  children  are  before  nine  o'clock  on  their  way 
to  a  new-fashioned  co-education  school  in  an  old 
castle.  Three  boys  are  shooting  along  on  skidor,  free 
from  all  encumbrances.1  Their  satchels  are  fast  to 
the  poles  of  the  sparkstotting  (foot-pusher)  that  the 
elder  brother  is  driving  before  him,  with  amazing 

1  A  leap  of  twenty-five  yards  was  lately  made  by  a  Norwegian  on 
skidor  (snow-shoes). 

13 


194  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

rapidity,  by  a  measured  back  kick,  for  a  while  with 
one  foot,  and  then  with  the  other.  A  tall  girl  is  on 
skidor,  while  her  little  sister  is  drawing  her  long, 
high,  narrow,  cushioned  sled,  while  from  her  arm 
hangs  a  pair  of  skates,  that  she  may  be  sure  of  some 
fun  during  the  lunch  recess. 

At  noon  the  bay  is  displaying  a  panorama  in 
silhouette.  The  high-road  for  all  the  region  round 
is  now  the  middle  of  the  bay  on  the  two-foot-thick 
ice,  and  is  in  excellent  order  after  the  fresh  fall  of 
snow.  Black  in  the  distance,  against  their  white 
background,  horses  and  sleighs,  loads  of  wood,  and 
foot-passengers  are  moving  along,  too  far  away  for 
one  to  hear  a  sound  from  them,  but  distinctly  out- 
lined in  the  sharp  clear  air. 

Later  in  the  day  there  is  a  sleighing-party  out  from 
Stockholm.  How  festal  it  looks!  The  white  nets 
cover  the  horses,  and  the  tassels  seem  dancing  like 
little  spirits  wild  with  joy.  (These  nets  generally 
betoken  pleasure-riding ;  they  have  been  used  for 
hundreds  of  years  to  protect  the  faces  of  the  travellers 
in  case  the  horses  should  throw  back  the  snow.)  The 
coachmen  are  generally  standing  behind  the  sleighs ; 
but  gentlemen  jockeys  like  best  to  drive  themselves, 
the  left  foot  out  of  the  sleigh,  resting  firmly  on 
the  runner,  to  give  them  a  firm  purchase  as  they 
hold  in  their  spirited  horses.  They  all  sweep  by, 
and  silence  again  reigns.  It  is  quite  dark  at  five 
o'clock,  and  the  children  are  glad,  for  they  know  a 
party  of  young  men  on  skidor,  experts,  are  to  be 
expected.  Here  they  come,  speeding  along  at  a  mar- 
vellous rate.  With  a  blazing  torch  on  every  staff, 
the  mysterious  procession  glides  swiftly  on  its  way, 
like  winter  will-o-the-wisps  on  a  nocturnal  frolic. 


A   SWEDISH   WINTER. 


195 


There  is  a  chat  round  the  cheerful  wood-fire,  now 
a  blaze  of  coals,  in  the  oven-like  opening  near  the 
base  of  the  great  porcelain  stove,  —  a  chat  that  keeps 
on  while  the  -children  are  at  their  studies,  until  the 
whole  crowd  is  let  loose  again,  eager  for  supper,  —  a 
hot  one  and  a  hearty  one,  which  all  are  going  to 
venture  to  eat  before  going  to  bed.  They  eat  it 
standing,  but  not  with  "  their  bread-troughs  on  their 
backs,"  like  the  Israelites 
leaving  the  Egyptians.  It 
is,  though,  a  kind  of  fam- 
ily "  passover  "  from  the 
cares  of  the  day  to  the 
rest  of  the  night,  and  is 
hallowed  by  a  prayer  at 
the  beginning  and  a  thanks- 
giving at  the  close ;  and 
after  comes  the  good-night 
kiss  for  the  children,  and 
later  for  the  elders  all 
round,  and  then  the  sweet 
sound  sleep  of  a  well- 
ordered  country  home. 

What  marvels  await  you  next  morning !  The  glazed 
ends  of  the  balcony  are  full  of  studies  of  delicate 
shrubbery  in  frost  below,  and  flecked  with  small 
shining  white  stars  above.  The  trees  have  put  on 
their  bridal  garments,  and  stand  in  festal  feathery 
array  indescribably  beautiful.  Every  shrub  and  twig 
is  coated,  not  "  inch  deep  with  pearl, "  but  daintily 
with  an  exquisite  glittering  white  foliage,  ethereal 
enough  for  a  fairy  world,  but  lavished  on  great  oaks 
as  well  as  on  the  slightest  topmost  sprays  of  the 
slender  birches.  The  kindly  snow  has  covered  the 


A    FOOT-PUSHER. 


196  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

earth  for  months.  Stains  come  on  the  pure  garment ; 
then  drops  a  fresh  fall,  like  free  forgiveness  after 
prayer,  and  all  is  pure  again. 

You  drive  out  to  see  the  world  in  its  frost  drapery, 
and  come  suddenly  on  what  seems  a  fortification  in  ice 
going  up  on  a  hillside  near  an  old  castle.  It  cannot 
be  the  work  of  the  children,  like  the  fort  passed  a 
minute  ago.  The  well-hewn  blocks  are  too  heavy  for 
young  arms  to  manage.  This  beautiful  structure 
has  a  prosaic  meaning ;  it  is  the  store  of  ice  for  the 
neighborhood  for  the  coming  short  summer.  It  will 
be  covered  over,  and  possibly  made  green  with  bright 
spruce  branches  laid  over  the  mine  of  refreshment 
below. 

You  call  perhaps  on  a  friend.  How  warm  and 
cosey  it  looks  within !  The  great  "  bay  "  in  which 
the  drawing-room  ends  is  full  of  plants,  a  towering 
palm  in  the  midst.  Books  peep  out  from  behind  rich 
curtains  on  the  walls ;  a  ceramic  procession  seems 
taking  its  way  around  the  room,  on  that  carved  oaken 
shelf  high  up  on  the  wall.  The  piano  knows  it  is 
always  an  awkward  guest,  with  all  its  musical 
charms,  and  half  hides  behind  a  gay  Japanese  screen. 
There  is  a  bright  wood-fire  in  the  porcelain  stove, 
really  laid  in  the  old-fashioned  American  way.  You 
have  such  a  cordial  welcome,  and  of  course  a  cup  of 
hot  chocolate,  and  some  pleasant  chat,  and  then  must 
be  going.  In  the  great  vestibule  the  monstrous  fawn- 
colored  dog  rises  from  his  giant  basket  and  luxuri- 
ous rug,  and  stands,  as  if  out  of  courtesy  to  the 
departing  guest. 

Only  the  ladies  were  at  home.  The  master  of  the 
house  was  early  off  to  the  city,  but  not  so  early  that 
he  had  not  been  round  among  the  cottagers  to  know 


A   SWEDISH  WINTER.  197 

how  they  had  fared  through  the  night,  which  had 
been  exceptionally  cold,  and  there  are  many  little 
children  in  those  humble  homes.  What  a  nice  time 
those  children  have  in  their  Sunday-school ;  and  when 
the  yearly  feast-day  comes  round,  the  best  part  of  it 
is  when  a  certain  kind  lady  who  takes  a  mother's 


HOAR    FROST. 


care  over  them  all,  comes  with  a  good  and  interest- 
ing book  to  read  a  little  aloud  to  them  herself  and 
enjoy  seeing  them  happy  together.  They  remember 
that  they  got  from  her  just  the  garments  they  really 
needed,  as  well  as  some  delicious  sweets,  at  Christmas 
time,  and  feel  that  she  knows  all  about  them. 

Yes,  Christmas-time,  —  the  family  festival,  the 
Christian  festival,  the  culminating  joy  of  the  Swedish 
winter !  Round  the  lamp  in  pleasant  home  intercourse 


198  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

the  long  winter  evenings  have  grown  longer  and 
longer,  and  yet  were  not  half  long  enough,  for  there 
was  so  much  to  be  said  and  so  much  to  be  done  and 
so  much  to  be  read,  so  many  Christmas  presents  to 
plan,  and  Christmas  presents  to  sew  and  paint  and 
carve  and  crochet  and  embroider,  that  eleven  and 
even  twelve  o'clock  would  strike  before  the  busy 
circle  would  fairly  break  up  and  say  good-night  at 
last. 

The  great  Christian  festivals  —  Easter,  Whitsun- 
day, and  Christmas  —  must  always  in  Sweden  have 
their  beginning  and  middle  and  end.  The  house  must 
be  made  clean  for  the  feast,  as  well  as  the  heart. 
Everything  that  can  be  polished  or  burnished  or 
blackened  or  scoured  must  go  through  the  process  it 
individually  requires.  Every  article  of  stuffed  furni- 
ture must  taste  the  open  air,  and  be  attacked  by  two 
strong  women,  rattan  in  hand,  who  beat  the  supposed 
dusty  offender  in  turn,  keeping  time  with  their  sharp 
raps,  so  that  almost  the  welkin  rings  with  the  sound. 
In  over-neat  city  houses,  this  same  process  may  be 
repeated  weekly.  An  invalid  living  in  an  apart- 
ment house  was  heard  to  say  that  her  neighbor  on 
the  floor  below  had  her  ten  sofas  regularly  beaten 
on  the  landing  every  Saturday  morning.  This,  it 
may  be  hoped,  was  an  exceptional  case  of  domestic 
cleanliness. 

Before  Christmas,  in  a  Swedish  country  home, 
there  is  a  wild  stir  in  the  kitchen,  as  a  variety 
of  specially  good  things,  essentials  for  the  occa- 
sion, must  be  prepared.  Bread  of  all  kinds  and 
colors  must  be  baked.  There  must  be  very  light 
yellow  bread,  tinted  with  saffron ;  soft  chocolate- 
brown  bread,  in  great  round  cakes ;  and  thin  little 


A  SWEDISH   WINTER  199 

spiced  fawn-colored  cakes,  which  you  keep  on  eat- 
ing, in  the  vain  hope  of  being  sometime  satisfied. 
There  must  be  gingerbread  men  and  pigs  and  stout 
little  girls,  and  tarts  filled  with  something  that  looks 
like  pumpkin  custard  (we  never  saw  anybody  eating 
it),  which  well  represents  a  muddy  pond,  on  which 
little  ducks  of  baked  dough  are  hopelessly  trying  to 
swim.  There  must  be  a  plate  arranged  for  every 
child  and  servant  of  the  establishment  to  be  special 
individual  property,  for  private  consumption.  These 
plates  are  tilled  with  confectionery,  nuts,  and  fresh 
and  dried  and  candied  fruit,  and  are  in  themselves 
enough  to  produce  "  after-Christmas  symptoms  "  in 
anybody  not  born  a  Swede. 

Locked  doors  are  the  order  of  the  day  before  Christ- 
mas. Behind  them  mysterious  workers  are  making 
mysterious  gifts ;  and  as  the  festival  draws  near 
nobody  has  time  to  be  agreeable  or  social  or  restful 
for  more  than  a  moment  half  grudgingly  given. 

There  is  a  great  demand  for  wrapping-paper  at  last, 
and  the  smell  of  sealing-wax  pervades  the  house ;  for 
the  Christmas  packages  are  being  put  up  as  carefully 
as  if  they  were  state  documents  or  gifts  of  love  to  be 
sent  to  a  distant  province.  All  must  be  poets,  born 
or  made,  for  the  occasion ;  for  at  least  a  couplet  must 
follow  every  gift,  rhyme  being  considered  more  than 
reason,  and  love  more  than  flowing  verse. 

The  Christmas-tree  is  a  universal  and  essential  ele- 
ment in  the  keeping  of  the  great  feast-day  of  the 
year.  It  towers  majestic  and  high  in  the  castle ; 
and  its  tiny  counterpart,  with  a  few  poor  candles, 
shines  cheerfully  in  the  low  attic  room  or  the  humble 
wayside  cottage.  The  turkey  is  not  a  specially 
honored  fowl  at  Christmas-time,  and  by  no  means  an 


200  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

invariable  part  of  the  entertainment.  Pork,  in  some 
form,  must  appear,  —  a  custom  which  may  date  back 
more  than  a  thousand  years,  to  the  time  when  heathen 
forefathers  celebrated  the  Feast  of  Lights  and  had 
not  yet  heard  of  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem. 

There  are  certain  usages  and  dishes  that  appear 
in  every  comfortable  Swedish  family  at  Christmas ; 
but  the  mode  of  celebration  round  the  tree  varies 
naturally  according  to  the  condition,  taste,  and  prin- 
ciples of  individual  families.  The  picture  given  be- 
low is  individual,  but  it  is,  in  general  outline,  what 
occurs  in  thousands  of  families  in  Sweden. 

The  morning  of  the  24th  of  December  found  a  cer- 
tain mother  of  a  happy  little  circle  of  children  early 
at  work  getting  off  parcels  to  be  sent  to  various  poor 
families  according  to  their  several  needs,  and  with  the 
little  additional  dainties  that  were  special  reminders 
of  the  day, —  not  necessities,  but  expressions  of  kindly 
feeling.  The  father  had  been  out  with  the  boys,  and 
had  returned  with  a  towering  tree  that  drooped  its 
splendid  branches  down  to  their  tips,  as  if  to  scatter 
blessings  broadcast.  The  dining-room  carpet  was 
covered  with  white  all  about  the  centre,  and  in  its 
midst  the  tree  was  placed,  supported  safely  by  the 
strong  wooden  frame  or  stand  into  which  the  trunk 
was  fitted  below.  Over  this  stand  white  folds  of 
linen  were  cast,  like  drifted  snow.  According  to 
proper  Swedish  usages,  the  family  should  have  dined 
in  the  kitchen ;  but  as  they  were  too  many  to  be  so 
accommodated  in  the  kitchen  of  a  city  apartment, 
another  room  was  forced  into  the  service  for  the 
nonce. 

A  mystery  had  already  crept  over  the  abode  of  the 
tree,  and  soon  it  was  not  to  be  peeped  at  at  all,  for  it 


A   SWEDISH   WINTER.  201 

was  putting  on  its  Christmas  array.  Bristling  with 
candles  held  upright  by  weights  attached  to  the  tiny 
holders,  sprinkled  with  bright  tinsel  threads,  spark- 
ling with  shining  stars  and  gay  little  glass  balls, 
and  patriotic,  teo,  with  small  fluttering  flags,  it  was 
nearly  ready  at  last,  just  waiting  for  the  light  angel, 
that  hung  by  a  thread,  to  seem  flying  down  from  the 
tiny  topmost  branch  with  its  glad  message.  The  tree 


A   WINTER    MORNING. 

was  lighted  by  many  helpers,  simultaneously  working 
on  all  sides ;  and  a  reliable  watcher  with  a  wet  cloth 
on  a  long  staff  was  warned  not  to  take  her  eyes  from 
the  tree,  under  any  circumstances,  that  there  need  be 
no  danger  of  fire  to  make  distress  in  the  midst  of  the 

joy- 
Two   great  baskets  full    of   packages  were   stored 

away    under    the    large   table,  —  for,    of    course,  no 

presents  were  on  the  tree. 

The  wide  double  doors  were  thrown  suddenly  open, 


202  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

and  the  thronging  children,  looking  their  prettiest  and 
all  unconscious  of  their  festal  array,  were  admitted. 
They  came  in  with  a  burst,  but  stopped  almost  at 
once,  as  if  at  some  celestial  unexpected  vision.  The 
tree  was  really  so  beautiful,  it  quite  awed  them  into 
silence.  All  silently  they  walked  around  it,  fair  curls 
flowing,  and  fair  faces  uplifted,  until  they  were  quite 
satisfied  that  they  had  really  taken  in  its  wonderful 
beauty.  Then  the  mother  began  with  a  sweet  carol, 
in  which  the  young  voices  happily  joined. 

All  sat  while  the  father  read  reverently  the  story 
of  the  Babe  in  the  Manger,  and  then  thanked  the 
dear  Heavenly  Father,  in  a  few  simple  and  natural 
words,  for  the  Great  Gift  to  man.  There  was  another 
short  carol,  and  then  the  presents  were  lavishly  dealt 
out.  The  big  jackets  were  drawn  out  from  their 
hiding-place,  and  the  father,  who  presided  at  the 
distribution,  laid  his  hand  first  on  a  gift  for  the  grand- 
mother (was  it  an  accident  ?),  and  sent  it  by  a  little 
golden-haired  child,  whose  sweet  loving  way  doubled 
the  value  of  the  pretty  gift.  Round  and  round  the 
bright  curly  heads  were  to  be  seen,  now  here  and  now 
there,  —  pleasant  messengers  with  a  pleasant  errand 
as  gift-bearers  to  each  and  all. 

The  servants  had  more  than  their  full  share,  where 
they  sat  in  an  orderly  row,  with  the  sick-nurse  of  last 
year  and  her  little  son,  to  have  a  part  in  the  gladness 
as  well  as  the  gifts.  An  old  gentleman,  a  chance 
guest  and  a  foreigner,  to  whom  the  whole  scene  was 
new,  was  heard  to  struggle  with  a  choking  difficulty 
in  his  throat;  while  his  eyes  shone  with  an  unusual 
brightness,  as  the  lights  from  the  Christmas-tree  were 
mirrored  in  the  unwonted  tears  that  filled  his  eyes. 

It  was  several  hours  before  this  wholesale  giving 


A   SWEDISH   WINTER.  203 

of  presents  was  over,  and  all  the  recipients  had  who 
could  tell  how  many  in  their  own  special  place  of 
deposit.  The  servants  were  seen  to  take  special  care 
of  an  envelope  for  each,  that  had  within  a  pictured 
paper,  with  figures  on  it,  —  it  might  be  V  or  X  or  XX, 
according  to  circumstances.  There  was  no  end  of 
kissing  and  thanking  and  courtesying  and  shaking 
hands,  before  this  part  of  Christmas  was  over.  The 
supper  later,  of  course,  must  have  a  big  dish  of  rice 
porridge,  all  criss-crossed  with  lines  of  powdered 
cinnamon,  to  be  pretty,  and  have  the  tree  flavor  for  the 
eve  of  a  feast-day. 

Even  on  Christmas  Eve  children  must  go  to  bed, 
reluctantly  of  course,  —  to  be  caught  by  the  sand  man, 
or  his  Swedish  counterpart,  and  made  silent  and  help- 
less in  the  midst  of  their  prattle. 

What  quiet  there  was,  what  wonderful  quiet,  when 
the  children  had  disappeared !  Old  thoughts  of  years 
gone  by  came  thronging  on  the  elders ;  and  soon,  with 
gratitude  for  the  present  blended  with  pensive  re- 
membrances of  what  had  been,  they  parted  with  a 
tender  good-night. 

To  see  the  Christmas  morning  service  properly,  one 
must  be  in  the  country.  As  one  speeds,  in  the  early 
dimness,  over  the  bright  snow,  to  the  sound  of  the 
sleigh-bell,  lamps,  candles,  or  closely  set  dips  flash 
out  for  you  from  cottage  and  farm-house  and  stately 
mansion.  You  reach  the  church  portals.  A  worshipper 
is  going  in,  and  there  is  a  flash  from  the  open  doors, 
and  a  sound  of  sweet  music,  as  if  one  had  had  a  peep 
into  heaven.  You  enter.  Light !  light !  light !  is  the 
expression  of  joy  for  the  Swedish  Christmas,  the  feast 
of  Him  who  was  the  light  of  the  world. 

In  every  place  in  the  church  where  a  candle  can  be 


204  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

placed,  it  is  doing  its  little  all  for  the  general  illumi- 
nation. In  the  choir  there  is  perhaps  a  tall  cross  all 
ablaze  with  brightness ;  but  the  spirit  of  the  short  service 
speaks  more  of  Christian  joy  than  of  the  suffering  by 
which  it  was  won  for  man. 

Later  in  the  day,  you  will  have  a  sermon  and 
specially  prepared  music.  Then  comes  the  marvel- 
lously good  dinner,  over  which  we  will  not  linger,  nor 
register  the  various  beverages  that  will  be  produced 
in  honor  of  the  occasion,  nor  the  toasts  and  witty 
little  speeches  that  will  accompany  them.  There  may 
be  lively  games  in  the  evening,  or  a  by  no  means 
stately  dance,  in  which  old  and  young  will  merrily 
join. 

Christmas-tide  is  not  over  with  Christmas  Day. 
There  is  an  after-glow  and  an  aftermath  in  Annan- 
dag-Jul,  or  Otherday-Yule,  which  follows  on  the  day 
after  Christmas,  as  Easter  Monday  and  Whit-Monday 
do  Easter  and  Whitsunday.  On  these  "  Otherdays " 
one  goes  to  church  in  the  morning,  and  must  not  in 
the  remaining  hours  touch  a  needle,  or  any  implement 
of  work,  excepting  for  necessary  household  purposes. 
"  Servile  labor "  is  abandoned  on  these  days,  by 
general  consent,  but  "  vain  recreation  "  is  not  so  en- 
tirely discountenanced.  "  Thirteenth  Day  "  (Epiphany) 
has  always  a  half-holiday  character,  though  there  is 
service  in  the  churches.  On  Twentieth  Day,  or  Knut's 
Day,  January  13,  according  to  Swedish  parlance, 
Christmas  "  dances  out,"  and  there  may  chance  to  be 
a  ball  to  give  or  perpetuate  a  practical  meaning  to  the 
saying. 

Servants,  who  have  often  had  peculiar  privileges 
and  unusual  liberty  during  Christmas-tide,  must  now 
soberly  settle  themselves  to  their  ordinary  duties. 


A   SWEDISH  WINTER.  205 

The  Christmas-tree  has  in  many  kindly  families 
been  lighted  again  on  New  Year's  Day,  and  poor 
children  have  been  assembled  about  it  to  sing  carols, 
dance  round  it,  receive  gifts  and  "goodies,"  and  have 
their  full  share'  of  fun  and  frolic.  Epiphany  gener- 
ally banishes  the  Christmas-tree ;  but  sometimes  eager 
little  pleaders  manage  to  have  it  kept  till  Knut's 
Day,  though  it  has  grown  airy  and  translucent,  and 
sheds  a  green  shower  at  the  slightest  touch.  The  very 
individual  tree  that  has  been  described,  had  such  a 
protracted  time  of  honor.  When  a  strong  man  and 
several  women  undertook,  at  last,  to  carry  it  out  of 
the  corner  of  the  dining-room,  where  it  had  lingered, 
the  branches  that  had  been  easily  bent  at  their  forced  en- 
trance, now  dried  and  stiffened,  refused  to  pass  through 
the  wide  double  door.  Strong  hands  coolly  snapped 
the  obstinate  limbs  with  a  sharp  crack,  that  made  the 
children,  before  almost  ready  to  weep  at  parting  with 
the  friend  of  the  holidays,  now  cry  out  with  sudden 
indignation.  So  the  great  Christmas-tree  disappeared ; 
and  probably  that  evening  some  poor  little  children 
had  a  bright,  swift  passing  glow  in  the  twilight  fire 
in  which  Swedes  particularly  delight. 

Now  books  will  be  brought  out,  lessons  studied, 
and  all  go  its  usual  round  until  glad  Easter,  when 
Spring  will  fairly  oust  Old  Winter,  even  in  the  far 
North. 


PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


SUMMER. 

A  CERTAIN  standard  dictionary  defines  summer  to  be 
the  warmest  part  of  the  year ;  and  of  this  description 
the  Swedish  summer  is  certainly  worthy. 

Even  the  Swedish  poets  have  tried  to  throw  a  halo 
around  May.  Tegne"r  writes  of  "  May  with  roses  in  her 
hat,"  but  in  most  places  in  Sweden  she  must  have 
picked  them  in  fairyland.  "  The  Swedish  summer," 
some  cynical  writer  has  said,  "  is,  after  all,  but  a  green 
winter;"  but  this  is  of  course  an  exaggeration.  In 
June  one  begins  to  look  for  warm  weather.  A  few 
almost  hot  days  come  now  and  then,  followed  by  a 
chilly  time,  and  another  warm  "  spell ; "  and  so  on, 
between  hope  and  fear,  and  impatient  waiting  for  the 
summer,  until  autumn  comes  at  last  instead. 

Meanwhile  the  Swedes  are  luxuriating  in  "the 
warmest  part  of  the  year."  They  are  not  content  with 
sitting  on  porches  and  verandahs ;  they  need  no  shelter, 
they  want  to  be  wrapped  round  by  the  sunshine  and 
the  mild  air.  They  like  to  have  the  sky  above  them, 
with  no  shadowing  roof  between  them.  Many  families 
even  take  their  meals  for  months  on  some  gravelled 
terrace  or  grassy  lawn,  unless  fairly  driven  indoors  by 
pelting  rain  ;  and  when  a  stranger  is  glad  to  have  a 
shawl  or  an  overcoat,  the  natives  are  delighting  in 
the  "  lovely  summer  weather."  There  is  much  to  be 
said  on  the  other  side  of  the  question.  There  are  no 
days  when  one  pants  for  breath,  and  creeps  round 


SUMMER.  207 

exhausted  longing  for  the  evening,  when  one  may  have 
strength  and  resolution  to  undertake  the  simple  duties 
of  life.  The  thunder-showers  are  short  and  rare,  and 
usually  end  in  a  settled  rain.  Few  houses  are  supplied 
with  lightning-rods.  As  to  hurricanes,  they  are  excep- 
tional occurrences.  It  is  usually  more  comfortable 
during  a  Swedish  summer  to  sleep  with  your  windows 
shut  than  open,  and  is  considered  more  healthful. 

The  season  of  flowers,  if  not  of  warmth,  usually 
begins  in  May,  though  all  the  whiter  the  city  florists 
have  had  their  windows  full  of  bloom.  Flowers  come, 
in  Sweden,  to  be  almost  overshadowed  with  associations 
of  sorrow.  The  lily  of  the  valley  and  the  white 
camellia  will  speak  of  the  early  dead.  The  funereal 
hearse  is  open,  and  the  coffin  appears  covered  with 
wreaths  and  floral  designs ;  while  depending  from  them 
long,  very  wide  white  ribbons,  bearing  golden  inscrip- 
tions, express  the  sympathy  and  sorrow  of  societies, 
superiors  in  office,  friends  and  —  foes  we  had  almost 
said,  so  universal  is  this  custom.  The  flowers  and 
the  ribbons  are  placed  in  the  grave  with  the  coffin. 
On  the  mound  that  will  be  raised,  there  will  perhaps 
for  long  years  be  always  a  fresh  bouquet,  or  a  wreath, 
placed  there  by  constant,  loving  friends.  Flowers  are 
not  merely  for  summer  and  joy  in  the  North. 

The  Swedes  divide  summer  as  definitely  as  we  do 
the  day,  into  forenoon  and  afternoon.  The  "early 
summer "  lasts  only  till  the  24th  of  June,  while  the 
"  late  summer  "  may  linger  into  September.  The  early 
summer  is  the  time  that  the  maidens  and  the  poets  love, 
while  the  late  summer  is  regarded  much  like  worthy, 
respectable  middle  age.  It  has  its  uses  in  the  com- 
munity, but  there  is  little  poetry  about  it.  The  wild- 
flowers  of  the  early  summer  are  most  beautiful  and 


208  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

abundant,  and,  massed  in  single  colors,  charmingly 
adorn  the  drawing-rooms  of  country  homes  for  the 
whole  season,  ferns  supplying  their  place  when  nothing 
particularly  attractive  is  for  the  moment  accessible. 
Cottage  windows  are  generally  filled  all  the  year  round 
with  flowering  plants  for  the  pleasure  of  the  inmates, 
or  for  the  profits  derived  from  their  sale. 

The  summer  days  go  by,  and  lengthen  as  they  go. 
Wake  out  of  sleep  when  you  will,  you  start  and  think 
it  is  morning.  You  double  your  window-shades,  draw 
close  the  curtains,  and  make  your  own  night  inside 
your  room,  although  it  is  broad  daylight  for  all  nature 
without.  Midsummer  Eve  comes  the  23d  of  June,  a 
festival  of  light  of  a  different  order  from  that  of  Christ- 
mas. The  sun  may  be  setting,  even  in  the  region  of 
Stockholm,  at  a  little  after  nine  o'clock,  and  claiming 
the  whole  evening  for  its  twilight,  and  then  be  energeti- 
cally up  and  doing  at  half-past  two  the  next  morning, 
after  having  its  own  long  preliminaries  of  early  dawn, 
in  spite  of  its  last  night's  vigils. 

What  a  time  of  rejoicing  the  Swedes  have  at  this 
wonderful  festival !  The  birds  are  now  in  the  ascend- 
ant, as  the  spruce  was  at  Christmas.  The  bright 
bearers  are  fluttering  everywhere,  as  if  quivering  with 
glee.  The  centre  of  joy  is,  of  course,  the  may-pole,  as 
the  midsummer  emblem  of  frolic  is  called.  When 
May  is  an  imposition,  and  no  season  for  fun,  the  pole 
keeps  its  name,  but  is  raised  judiciously  in  milder 
June.  The  dancing  round  the  may-pole  is  most  joyous, 
beautiful,  and  picturesque,  when  the  little  children 
have  it  all  to  themselves.  They  have  picked  the  birch 
leaves  and  the  wild-flowers,  and  have  unskilfully  twined 
them  to  adorn  the  family  may-pole.  Parents  look  on 
and  smile,  as  they  see  the  children  dance  round  and 


SUMMER.  209 

roimd  in  wild  joy ;  but  soon  an  older  sister  or  brother, 
a  mamma  or  papa,  a  maid  here,  a  farmer's  wife  there, 
or  even  a  grandmother  or  a  grandfather,  may  be  found 
in  the  merry  ring.  This  we  may  see  at  almost  any 
country  home  on  Midsummer  Eve. 

There    is   often   a    great    public   may-pole   at   the 
parade-ground  near   Stockholm.     Through  the  royal 


BIRCHES    OF    GOTA    CANAL. 

park  (Djutgarden)  all  the  latter  part  of  the  day  parties 
are  taking  their  way  to  the  scene  of  the  festivities. 
The  wraps  and  the  big  luncheon-baskets  show  plainly 
they  mean  to  make  a  night  of  it,  if  the  long  twilight, 
with  sunshine  on  both  sides  of  it,  can  be  called  night 
at  all.  Even  little  children  are,  it  seems,  to  be  spared 
the  pain  of  going  to  bed  for  once  in  the  year.  How 
could  the  laborer's  family  otherwise  have  their  part 
of  the  fun  ?  A  promiscuous  crowd  is  on  the  parade- 
ground, —  soldiers  and  citizens,  honest  workmen  and 

14 


210  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

worthless  rabble,  lookers-on  in  carriages,  boy  specta- 
tors in  all  kinds  of  mischief,  men  and  women  and 
little  children,  all  crowding  towards  the  spot  where 
the  may-pole  is  the  centre  of  attraction.  The  may- 
pole is  making  its  toilet.  Not  that  it  is  any  pole  at 
all,  in  the  bare  sense  of  the  term.  It  is  more  like  the 
towering  mast  of  a  ship,  with  its  cross-yards,  one, 
two,  and  three,  rising  in  a  diminishing  series,  and 
taking  on,  in  all  haste,  a  light  drapery  of  birch 
leaves.  Not  that  the  may-pole  is  yet  upright.  It 
lies  stretched  on  supports  some  feet  from  the  ground, 
until  its  toilet  is  over,  and  its  summit  literally 
crowned,  as  the  monarch  of  the  summer.  Now 
comes  the  raising.  Strong  men,  ropes,  and  ingenious 
contrivances  are  doing  their  best.  It  rises,  rises 
slowly,  like  a  skilled  gymnast,  without  making  a 
curve  or  bending  a  joint,  when  there  is  a  sudden 
crash  and  a  cry  of  distress.  No  human  being  is  hurt, 
but  the  heavy  crown  has  been  too  much  for  the 
may -pole,  and  it  has  snapped,  and  the  top  is  bowing 
helplessly  over.  Republicans  need  not  rejoice  at  the 
accident  (a  serious  fact  one  Midsummer  Eve),  for  there 
is  a  prompt  bracing  and  splicing,  and  soon  the  stately 
may-pole  stands  firm  in  its  place,  held  fast  by  the 
strong  stanchions  below.  A  shout,  a  glad  shout,  goes 
up  from  the  multitude, —  a  hearty  loyal  shout;  the 
may-pole  is  all  right,  and  the  crown  is  all  right,  and 
the  music  will  soon  strike  up,  and  the  crowd  will  be 
glad,  they  hardly  know  why.  It  grows  chilly  now, 
for  it  is  a  little  after  midnight,  and  more  spectators 
are  dropping  away.  The  carriages  roll  back  to  the 
city  and  to  the  quiet  of  the  tall  clustering  houses. 

To  see  Midsummer  Eve  in  its  perfection  one  should 
be  in  Dalecarlian,  where  the  peasants  in  their  various 


SUMMER.  211 

gay  costumes  deck  the  may-pole  and  dance  around  it 
their  own  peculiar  dances,  which  have  come  down 
to  them  from  the  far,  far  past. 

Midsummer  Day  is  a  holyday  as  well  as  a  holiday. 
You  must  not  sew,  and  you  probably  go  to  church  in 
the  morning,  and  find  the  service  attended  by  a  large 
congregation.  You  may  hear  nothing  of  stern  John 
the  Baptist,  and  much  of  field  and  flower  and  sunny 
skies ;  for  the  midsummer  feeling  of  the  day  generally 
shines  out  in  the  services  rather  than  the  stern 
preacher  of  repentance.  In  the  afternoon  it  is  the 
thing  to  be  in  the  open  air  somewhere,  and  as  cheery 
and  happy  as  if  life  were  a  long  Midsummer  Day. 

Midsummer  is  over,  and  the  late  summer  has  now 
begun.  The  birds  have  built  their  nests,  and  ab- 
sorbed in  their  family  cares  perhaps  forget  to  sing. 
The  time  has  come  for  the.  sickle  and  the  scythe  to  be 
at  work,  "  to  reap  the  grass  and  the  bearded  grain  at 
a  breath,  and  the  flowers  that  grow  between. "  The 
bright  golden  counterpart  of  the  ox-eyed  daisy,  the 
full  asters,  and  many  of  their  beautiful  companions 
are  still  in  store  for  you ;  and  in  thrifty  Sweden  one 
must  not  complain  if  something  less  than  "  an  angel 
visits  the  earth  and  takes  the  flowers  away. " 

The  bright  orange  mushrooms  (Kantarella)  that 
even  a  child  can  know,  and  other  well-known  varie- 
ties, will  be  tempting  whole  families  into  the  woods, 
to  come  home  laden  with  such  spoil,  gathered  in  the 
midst  of  the  gray  reindeer-moss  under  the  drooping 
spruces.  What  a  nice  stew  they  make  for  supper, 
with  the  relish  of  a  merry  walk  and  family  enjoy- 
ment, to  give  it  a  special  charm !  Supper  is  a  cheery 
meal  once  more ;  for  the  lamps  that  have  been  put 
away  or  transformed  into  vases,  come  out  with  the 


212  PICTURES   OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

August  evenings,  and  are  again  made  a  centre  for  the 
family  circle. 

The  evenings  soon  begin  to  be  chilly,  and  the 
invalid  and  the  old  man  are  pleased  with  the  pro- 
posal that  there  shall  be  the  crackling  of  a  light  fire 
in  the  open  stove,  if  only  to  make  everything  look 
home-like  and  cosey  once  more. 

Summer  in  the  North  is  indeed  but  a  poor  imitation 
of  the  summer  of  summer  climes ;  it  is  really  more 
like  a  long-drawn  May,  the  May  of  the  poets,  which 
one  welcomes  and  loves  and  praises, —  a  fickle  enchan- 
tress, but  an  enchantress  still. 


CHRI.STINK    NILSSON. 


JOY  AND   SOREOW.  218 


JOY   AND    SOEROW. 

THE  wood  nymphs  are  not  altogether  "  dead,  for- 
gotten, and  out  of  mind  "  in  Sweden.  The  spirit  of 
joy  still  dwells  in  the  birch,  and  the  spirit  of  sorrow 
in  the  evergreen.  This  might  seem  a  strange  asser- 
tion to  the  naughty  boy,  who  has  unpleasant  asso- 
ciations with  the  fragrant  young  twigs  of  the  birch ; 
it  is,  however,  true,  though,  in  Swedish  as  in  English, 
the  birch  is  the  emblem  of  punishment.  The  Swedish 
rod  is  no  single,  slender  switch,  but  a  bundle  of 
twigs  tied  firmly  together  fairly  to  fill  the  hand  of 
the  chastiser.  These  instruments  of  retribution  are 
hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  the  somewhat  larger 
country  broom  which  sweeps  the  dust  from  the  bare 
floors  instead  of  childish  faults  from  the  walk  of  the 
little  ones.  The  leafless  birch  appears  in  a  somewhat 
different  form  at  the  beginning  of  Lent. 

Before  Shrove  Tuesday  (Fat  Tuesday  in  Swedish, 
as  expressive  of  good  cheer)  the  women  in  the 
market-places  have  for  sale  any  quantity  of  birch 
brooms,  with  small  gay  home-dyed  feathers,  arranged 
in  the  form  of  open  lilies,  and  tied  onto  the  ends  of 
the  twigs.  These  brooms  or  switches  are  a  source  of 
some  income  to  the  rustics  who  make  them,  and 
of  much  fun  to  the  young  buyers.  Custom  allows 
the  children  to  range  the  house  early  on  Shrove 
Tuesday  morning,  and  whip  as  soundly  as  young 
arms  will  allow  sleepers  in  bed,  and  sleepy  people 


214  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

out  of  bed,  to  the  infinite  delight  of  the  litle  ones, 
and  the  limited  enjoyment  of  all  who  like  a  good 
morning  nap.  Having  finished  the  work  of  chastise- 
ment, the  rods  are  put  into  vases  or  jars  filled  with 
water,  and  in  a  wonderfully  short  time  the  grateful 
little  twigs  send  out  into  the  warm  indoor  air  their 
tender  green  leaves,  to  charm  the  eyes  of  the  children, 
who  watch  them  day  by  day,  to  see  this  ever-repeated 
wonder  of  spring.  Now  the  mission  of  joy  has  begun 
for  the  birch  to  keep  straight  on  through  the  season 
of  its  beauty. 

Is  a  triumphal  arch  to  be  thrown  up  for  a  bride  to 
pass  under  on  her  way  to  her  wedding,  the  bright 
birch  boughs  must  trim  it,  and  the  pretty  leaves 
quiver  good  wishes  for  her  as  she  passes.  Are  the 
children  to  be  confirmed  in  the  church,  the  window- 
seats  may  be  filled  with  light  birch  branches,  the  altar 
may  be  embowered  in  the  same,  and  perhaps  an  arch 
thrown  over  the  broad  aisle  at  both  ends,  under  which 
the  little  ones  of  the  flock  are  to  file  in  for  the  solemn 
ceremony,  and  afterwards  go  forward  for  the  Confirma- 
tion vows.  Is  the  Midsummer  Eve  may-pole  to  be 
adorned,  the  birch  must  be  robbed  to  clothe  its  bare 
stem  and  crossyards.  On  Midsummer  Day  it  is  a  poor 
horse,  indeed,  who  has  not  a  bunch  of  birch  leaves  to 
shake  round  his  ears  and  tell  how  glad  he  is,  and  a 
dreary  steamboat  that  is  not  a  bower  of  birches.  The 
very  street  cars  are  so  adorned  that  it  puts  one  in  a 
festal  mood  merely  to  look  at  them,  with  holiday  faces 
peeping  up  from  among  the  green  leaves.  The  leaf 
market  is  going  on  in  Stockholm,  and  strangers  must 
see  the  secular  "  feast  of  tabernacles,"  where  all  pos- 
sible things  are  sold  to  the  gaping,  pushing  crowd. 
The  birch  holds  its  grand  triumph  at  midsummer,  and 


JOY   AND   SORROW.  215 

its  glad  mission  then  reaches  its  climax.  The  senti- 
ment cherished  towards  the  birch  in  Sweden  is  much 
like  the  tender,  loving  reverence  that  is  called  out  by 
pure,  fresh,  early  girlhood. 

An  invalid  might  tell  how  through  long  months  a 
graceful  young  birch-tree  before  his  window  threw  her 
light  branches  upward  and  whispered  of  joy.  Like  the 
faithful  "  Eitter  Toggenburg,"  she  was  ever  at  her  post. 
She  changed  her  dress  often,  as  with  a  true  maidenly 
desire  to  please.  In  the  spring,  her  light  drapery  was 
of  the  tenderest  green.  In  summer,  she  was  in  full 
dress,  and  waving  her  leaves  coquettishly  with  every 
passing  wind.  She  had,  too,  her  humors.  Sometimes, 
in  a  storm,  she  seemed  to  be  tossing  her  arms  in  wild 
distress.  On  hot  days  she  was  femininely  nervous  and 
quivering,  while  the  dark,  solemn  oak  that  stood  behind 
her,  like  a  faithful  servitor,  was  silent  and  still.  In 
autumn  she  robed  herself  in  golden  yellow,  from  the 
treasured  sunshine  of  the  bright  past.  When  winter 
came,  she  had  often  the  snow  for  her  raiment ;  but  that 
soon  fell  away  from  her  slender  branches,  and  then  she 
came  out  suddenly,  some  morning,  exquisitely  arrayed 
in  feathery  frost-work,  like  a  saint  who  had  won  her 
white  garments,  and  was  fit  to  be  a  perpetual  image  of 
sacred,  endless  joy. 

This  might  be  an  invalid's  story,  a  story  founded 
on  fact,  and  a  fact  of  yearly  recurrence,  wherever  the 
favored  birch  is  watched  in  its  beautiful  progress  to 
the  transfiguration  of  the  fairy-like  frost  of  the  North. 

THE  EVERGREEN. 

You  are  walking  in  Stockholm  some  winter  morning, 
when  suddenly  you  find  your  pathway  is  clothed  in 
green.  Out  from  under  an  archway,  across  the  side- 


216  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

walk,  along  the  street  to  the  next  corner,  a  wide  path 
is  strewn  with  bits  of  spruce,  green  and  bright  on  the 
snow-covered  ground.  Then  you  know  that  death  has 
passed  that  way,  and  has  left  for  you  and  all  a  whisper 
of  immortality  in  the  leaf  which  does  not  fade  in  sor- 
row or  joy,  in  winter  or  summer,  in  heat  or  cold.  A 
happy  child  passes  by,  picks  up  a  sprig  fresh  from  the 
woods,  and  runs  home  with  its  treasure.  To  him  it 
speaks  only  of  sweet  country  joy ;  but  the  grown  up 
people  know  there  is  sorrow  in  hearts  near  at  hand,  and 
give  a  tender  sympathetic  look  at  the  house  they  are 
passing.  There  no  window-shutters  are  "  bowed  "  in 
Swedish  cities  to  tell  that  sorrowing  hearts  are  behind 
them,  no  black  crape  is  tied  to  the  door-bell,  no 
little  white  ribbon  speaks  of  a  baby  missed  in  the 
household.  Only  the  green  path  where  the  hearse  has 
been  borne  reminds  the  passer-by  that  all  are  mortal. 
Within  the  house  of  mourning,  perhaps,  the  sacred 
quiet  room  has  been  dressed  with  evergreen  garlands, 
or  drooping  branches,  or  green  plants,  when  not  a 
blossom  is  seen.  The  evergreen  in  Sweden  is  never  a 
token  of  joy.  There  is  no  church-dressing,  at  Christ- 
mas, by  happy  country  congregations,  or  paid  city 
guardians  of  the  sanctuary.  Birnam  wood,  or  any 
other,  never  sends  its  trees  in  procession  to  stand 
around  the  altar  to  celebrate  the  birth  of  Him  who 
opened  the  way  to  the  Tree  of  Life. 

You  go  into  a  rural  cemetery.  There  is  a  new-made 
grave.  No  turf  has  had  time  to  grow  over  it,  but 
careful  hands  have  clothed  it  in  green.  The  pretty 
spruce  branches  have  hidden  the  fresh  soil.  A  wreath 
of  flowers  has  been  laid  upon  them,  and  you  feel  that 
the  lost  was  loved. 

Sorrow  and  homely  ministry  are  coupled  together  in 


JOY   AND  SORROW.  217 

the  evergreen,  as  in  life.  The  evergreen,  the  sign  of 
mourning,  has  yet  its  humble  household  uses. 

You  may  enter  a  lowly  cottage  on  a  Saturday  after- 
noon. It  has  been  freshly  scoured  for  Sunday,  and 
the  white  floor  has  been  strewed  with  tiny  sprigs  of 
juniper  or  spruce,  and  the  air  is  full  of  their  fresh 
fragrance.  Even  in  country  shops  may  sometimes 
be  seen  this  substitute  for  the  more  prosaic  and  more 
expensive  white  sand. 

Two  long  lines  of  little  rootless  evergreen  trees  stand 
knee-deep  on  the  snow,  in  the  wide  plains,  to  show 
where  the  road  must  pass,  or  hedge  in  the  traveller  on 
the  highway,  where  the  ditches  are  deep,  and  winter 
has  hidden  their  borders.  On  the  ice-covered  bay 
there  is  a  file  of  those  sentinels,  here  and  there,  to 
show  where  the  skater  dare  not  venture,  or  the  bur- 
dened sleigh  would  surely  sink.  Evergreen  boughs 
cover  the  delicate  roses  under  the  snow,  and  even  cast 
their  green  mantle  over  the  refuse-heap.  A  mat  of 
spruce  boughs  may  make  your  feet  clean  at  the  door, 
and  a  broom  of  the  same  brush  away  the  traces  some 
hasty  step  has  carelessly  left  in  the  vestibule.  Even 
the  chimney-sweep  may  pass  you  in  the  street  with 
a  sooty  brush  in  his  hand  that  has  come  from  the 
forest  to  help  him  in  his  dusty  calling. 

So  modest  and  lowly  may  be  the  ministry  of  the 
type  of  sorrow  through  the  year,  but  its  time  of  honor 
is  coming.  Sparkling  with  light,  it  is  the  Christmas- 
tree  ;  for  a  spruce,  and  only  a  spruce,  must  the  Christ- 
mas-tree be. 

The  pine-tree  is  an  evergreen  much  prized  for  its 
healing  power.  To  sit  among  the  pines  is  thought 
almost  as  beneficial  for  the  consumptive  patient  as  a 
winter  in  Italy,  or  a  summer  trip  to  the  heights  of 


218  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Norway  or  Jutland.  The  Swedes  like  the  pine- 
woods  and  will  not  own  that  they  are  gloomy,  with 
the  tall  bare  trunks,  and  the  soft  deep  shadows  even  at 
noonday.  In  the  sunset  light  the  tall  trunk  of  some 
giant  pine  may  be  of  a  glowing  red,  that  is  rarely  seen 
in  the  American  forest.  Such  a  strong  old  tree  may 
then  seem  like  a  mighty  Viking  of  the  past,  bloody 
and  tierce,  but  grand  in  his  decline. 

The  Swedish  elm  is  a  stranger  for  one  of  Columbia's 
children.  It  is  not  the  familiar  beautiful  tree,  throw- 
ing its  branches  upward  to  the  sunshine,  then  letting 
them  droop  in  long  streamers  almost  to  the  ground,  as 
if  to  give  to  the  earth  the  blessing  it  had  caught  from 
heaven.  An  old  elm,  in  the  latitude  of  Stockholm, 
is  more  like  a  great  old  cherry-tree  in  America ;  but 
no  little  children  have  climbed  its  branches  for  red 
ripe  fruit,  and  no  catbirds  have  screamed  there  their 
delight  over  a  stolen  feast. 

The  Swedish  oak  is  smaller,  and  has  its  branches 
more  finely  ramified  than  the  same  tree  in  America. 
The  ash,  though  late  in  leafing  out,  and  early  losing 
its  foliage,  is  often  a  magnificent  tree.  When  it  is 
suddenly  touched  by  the  first  frost,  it  is  beautiful  to 
see  the  great  leaves  gently,  freely  falling,  as  if  to  drop 
were  a  voluntary  and  pleasing  act.  Soon  a  rich  green 
carpet  lies  round  the  tree,  thick  and  soft  with  the 
wealth  of  the  verdure,  —  the  accumulated  treasure  of 
its  short,  happy  summer. 

The  linden  is  a  favorite  in  Sweden,  especially  for 
stately  avenues.  It  grows  to  a  great  height,  and 
may  easily  be  mistaken  for  the  American  elm. 

The  beech,  with  its  dark  shadows,  is  common  in 
Southern  Sweden,  and  is  most  highly  prized. 

Trees  are  the  riches  of  Sweden,  far  more  than  the 


JOY  AND  SORROW.  219 

mines.  The  saw-mills  of  the  North  are  busy  in  fashion- 
ing them  into  beams  and  planks  ;  and  in  whizzing 
factories  and  quiet  cottage  homes  all  sorts  of  wooden 
implements  are  made  for  household,  farm,  or  city 
use,  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  land  that  will  bear  no  other  certain  crop  can 
nourish  the  roots  from  which  rise  the  tall  trunks,  to 
be  the  masts  of  great  vessels  ;  or  the  lesser  trees  that 
are  soon  to  be  the  riches  of  the  lumberman  or  the 
manufacturer,  or  to  light  the  cheery  evening  fires  in 
the  castle  or  the  cottage  during  the  long  winter  of  the 
far  North. 


220      -  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


THE  SEVEN   AGES. 

"All  the  world's  a  stage, 
And  all  the  men  and  women  merely  players. 
They  have  their  exits  and  their  entrances; 
And  one  man  in  his  time  plays  many  parts, 
His  acts  being  seven  ages.     At  first  the  infant, 
Mewling  and  puking  in  the  nurse's  arms; 
And  then  the  whining  school-boy,  with  his  satchel 
And  shining  morning  face,  creeping  like  snail, 
Unwillingly  to  school.     And  then  the  lover, 
Sighing  like  furnace,  with  a  woful  ballad 
Made  to  his  mistress'  eyebrow.     Then  a  soldier, 
Full  of  strange  oaths,  and  bearded  like  the  pard, 
Jealous  in  honor,  sudden  and  quick  in  quarrel, 
Seeking  the  bubble  reputation 
Even  in  the  cannon's  mouth.     And  then  the  justice 
In  fair  round  belly  with  good  capon  lined, 
With  eyes  severe  and  beard  of  formal  cut, 
Full  of  wise  saws  and  modern  instances ; 
And  so  he  plays  his  part.     The  sixth  age  shifts 
Into  the  lean  and  slippered  pantaloon, 
With  spectacles  on  nose,  and  pouch  on  side, 
His  youthful  hose,  well  saved,  a  world  too  wide 
For  his  shrunk  shank  ;  and  his  big  manly  voice, 
Turning  again  toward  childish  treble,  pipes 
And  whistles  in  his  sound.     Last  scene  of  all, 
That  ends  this  strange  eventful  history, 
Is  second  childishness  and  mere  oblivion, 
Sans  teeth,  sans  eyes,  sans  taste,  sans  everything." 

As  You  Like  It,  Act  II.  Scene  6. 

THE  infant  in  its  mother's  arms  is  the  same  helpless 
little  thing  all  the  world  over,  but  "  the  clothes  ques- 
tion "  greatly  modifies  its  appearance.  The  wee,  limp 


THE  SEVEN  AGES.  221 

little  creature,  in  its  mass  of  long  flowing  drapery,  may 
give  rise  to  the  complaint  once  uttered  by  a  bachelor 
young  clergyman,  —  "  The  object  was  hard  to  handle, 
for  one  could  not  know  where  tangibility  commenced." 
This  difficulty  is  often  in  a  measure  avoided  in  Sweden, 
by  giving  a  kind  of  stiffness  to  the  as  yet  unsteady, 
uncertain  limbs.  In  old-fashioned  homes,  where 
daughters  do  as  their  mothers  have  done  before  them, 
the  little  one  has  a  strong  bandage  passed  round  and 
round  its  body  and  legs  "  to  keep  them  straight,"  and 
formerly  the  arms  were  pinioned  close  to  the  side. 
Instead  of  skirts,  there  is  a  long  "  mantle  "  of  white 
pique",  not  "buttoned  all  down  before,"  but  tied  in 
front  by  many  little  strings.  A  small  short  sacque,  of 
the  same  material,  covers  the  upper  part  of  the  body. 
It  wears  a  cap,  of  course,  as  it  is  supposed  to  be  dan- 
gerous to  have  that  possibly  bald  head  so  early  exposed 
to  the  unkindly  air.  Not  that  one  sees  all  these 
particulars  at  first  glance.  Probably  a  little  round 
serious  face  may  be  discerned  in  the  midst  of  a  bundle 
of  soft  wrappings  more  or  less  elegant,  according  to 
circumstances. 

The  Swedish  baby  often  starts  out  on  life's  journey 
at  once  in  its  "  perambulator,"  cushioned  and  adorned 
according  to  taste,  —  its  bed  on  wheels  its  home  day 
and  night.  This  is  not  an  inconvenient  arrangement  in 
apartment  houses,  as  the  little  one  can  be  moved 
about,  sleeping  or  waking,  and  is  so  more  under  the 
eye  of  the  mother  than  if  it  were  confined  to  the  nur- 
sery. It  has,  too,  the  benefit  of  change  of  air  from 
room  to  room,  if  there  be  any  fresh  air  found  on  the 
premises.  The  double  windows,  that  are  so  comfort- 
able a  protection  against  the  cold  of  the  long  winter, 
are  too  frequently  a  hindrance  to  proper  ventilation. 


222  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

When  all  is  so  comfortable  within,  the  Swede  hesitates 
to  let  in  the  cold  breezes  from  without,  especially 
when  a  little  baby  is  a  new  and  honored  member  of 
the  household.  There  are,  of  course,  all  sorts  of 
sumptuous  little  beds,  swinging  at  a  touch,  and  draped 
and  gilded,  for  children  of  luxury,  who,  like  their 
elders,  have  about  the  same  appointments  in  Sweden 
as  elsewhere. 

As  soon  as  the  child  is  born,  the  question  is  almost  im- 
mediately agitated,  "  When  is  the  baby  to  be  baptized  ? " 
The  ceremony  will,  if  practicable,  be  at  home,  and  as 
early  as  possible,  according  to  the  established  Lutheran 
view  on  the  subject.  This  is  the  more  easily  accom- 
plished as  the  mother  does  not  have  the  baby  in  her 
own  arms  during  the  ceremony,  but  it  is  committed 
to  the  grandmother  or  some  respected  friend  or  mem- 
ber of  the  family.  Its  name  should  be  a  profound  secret 
until  after  the  baptism.  It  may  even  have  three  or 
four  names  awaiting  it,  but  no  one  but  the  parents 
must  know  their  sound  or  sequence. 

The  eccentric  and  warm-hearted  Bishop  Swedborg, 
the  father  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  was  a  strong  ad- 
vocate for  baptisms  in  church,  and  had,  by  pamphlets 
on  the  subject  and  with  all  publicity,  advocated  his 
principles  with  apparently  little  success.  In  the  midst 
of  the  controversy  a  little  daughter  was  born  to  the 
zealous  bishop.  Of  course  she  must  be  baptized  in 
church  ;  but  this  was  no  easy  matter,  as  no  priest 
would  consent  to  perform  the  ceremony  and  no  spon- 
sors could  be  found  to  act  on  the  occasion.  The  bishop 
stoutly  declared  he  would  baptize  the  baby  himself, 
and  sponsors  would  be  forthcoming.  In  his  difficulty 
he  posted  to  the  King,  Karl  XL,  with  whom  he  was  on 
as  familiar  terms  as  a  subject  can  be  with  his  sovereign. 


THE   SEVEN  AGES.  223 

The  interview  was  opened  by  the  abrupt  question  on 
the  part  of  the  bishop,  "  Will  your  Majesty  have  the 
goodness  to  say  whether  I  am  to  follow  Stockholm 
fashions,  or  the  laws  of  the  Church  ? "  Of  course  there 
could  be  but  one  answer,  and  it  was  at  once  decidedly 
given.  The  impulsive  bishop  opened  more  fully  the 
case  and  his  difficulties.  The  King  volunteered  to  be 
himself  the  godfather,  and  would  send  his  proxy  to 
appear  in  his  stead.  As  for  the  godmother,  an  appeal 
to  the  dowager-Queen,  Hedwig  Elenora,  was  advised. 
Here,  too,  Swedborg  succeeded ;  and  for  the  little  one 
the  honor  was  proposed  of  bearing  the  godmother's 
own  name.  The  bishop  burst  out,  "  Everybody's  daugh- 
ter nowadays  must  have  two  or  three  names ;  one  is 
enough  for  my  child,  and  I  shall  esteem  it  an  honor 
to  call  her  Hedwig,  after  your  Majesty." 

The  little  girl  was  duly  baptized  in  church,  but  with 
little  effect,  as  far  as  the  force  of  the  example  was 
concerned.  This  baptism  in  church  took  place  about 
two  hundred  years  ago,  but  private  baptisms  are  still 
the  rule  in  the  upper  classes  of  society. 

A  baptism  may  be  under  the  church  roof,  and  yet 
not  be  specially  churchly.  Ten  or  a  dozen  little  babies 
from  humble  homes  may  be  baptized,  as  it  were  "  in  the 
bunch,"  in  a  sacristy,  with  a  tiny  "  crockery  "  bowl  for 
a  font,  and,  altogether,  in  a  most  informal  and  little 
reverent  way.  The  frequent  performance  of  the 
ceremony  has  often  lessened,  in  the  clergyman,  the 
sense  of  its  solemn  meaning,  and  in  the  sacristy  there 
is  no  worshipping  congregation  to  influence  his  out- 
ward demeanor. 

.  A  baptism  in  a  private  house  is  often,  in  a  devout 
Christian  family,  a  peculiarly  beautiful  and  touching 
ceremony.  The  room  where  the  service  is  to  take 


224  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

place  is,  in  such  cases,  adorned  with  blossoming  plants 
and  cut  flowers,  and  all  the  accessories  of  the  cere- 
mony are  tastefully  and  reverently  arranged.  When 
the  mother  and  the  brothers  and  sisters  sing  an  appro- 
priate hymn,  in  which  all  present  soon  join,  and  the 
clergyman  is  a  true  pastor,  the  scene  is  not  soon  to  be 
forgotten. 

Some  children  have  a  dozen  or  more  sponsors,  chosen 
sometimes  more  for  their  honorable  station  or  personal 
relation  to  the  parents  than  for  their  peculiar  fitness 
to  train  the  child  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  solemn  vows 
they  take  in  its  name.  The  sponsors  are  not  necessarily 
present,  and  do  not  sometimes  know  until  afterwards 
that  the  compliment  has  been  paid  them  of  being 
included  in  the  list  of  the  special  Christian  guardians 
and  advisers  of  the  little  pilgrim  with  the  new  name. 

"  The  whining  schoolboy "  probably  is  now  in  most 
countries  a  creature  of  the  past,  who  died  out  when 
Dr.  Birch  ceased  to  rule  in  the  class-room.  Teach- 
ing has  become  for  many  who  take  it  for  their  occupa- 
tion a  life-long  profession,  prepared  for  with  care  and 
assiduous  study,  and  entered  upon  with  the  same 
motives  that  would  induce  the  selection  of  any  honor- 
able, permanent  career,  and  often  with  a  higher  devo- 
tedness  that  makes  it  one  of  the  noblest  of  all  callings. 

The  recitation  is  not,  on  the  part  of  the  child,  a  mere 
repetition  of  something  learned,  to  be  given  out  like 
the  message  of  an  errand-boy,  to  be  forgotten  as  soon 
as  delivered.  The  teacher,  too,  has  made  his  prepara- 
tion beforehand,  not  merely  to  know  what  is  in  the 
book  as  well  as  the  scholar  does,  but  to  be  able  to 
add  his  own  explanations  and  illustrations  to  make 
the  lesson  both  interesting  and  profitable. 

Indeed  the  teacher  in  Sweden  is  generally  one  day 


THE  SEVEN  AGES.  225 

in  advance  of  the  children,  and  gives  them,  before  they 
are  called  on  to  study  a  lesson,  its  contents  in  a  vivid 
outline,  and  often  admirably  explained  and  illustrated. 
It  is,  however,  a  pedagogical  question  whether  the 
child  would  not  better  gain  for  himself  a  thorough 
skeleton  of  the  matter  before  it  is  thus  made  living  for 
him  and  charmingly  clothed  by  the  teacher. 

The  classes  in  the  State  schools  in  Stockholm  are 
too  large  for  the  teacher  to  have  much  individual 
knowledge  of  the  boys,  unless  he  be  an  enthusiast  in 
his  profession  and  a  skilful  reader  of  character.  He 
probably,  in  most  cases,  has  a  clearer  idea  of  their 
heads  than  their  hearts,  or  their  predispositions  and 
special  temptations.  Teachers  in  a  State  school  in 
Sweden  are  sure  of  their  pension  for  old  age,  if  they 
continue  the  proper  length  of  time  in  the  service. 
The  profession  is  an  honored  one,  in  the  general  feel- 
ing of  the  community,  though,  when  it  comes  to  the 
laws  of  social  precedence,  which  are  strictly  established, 
it  does  not  take  its  proper  rank. 

As  for  the  boys,  they  are  under  strong  pressure,  and 
must  study  hard,  if  they  want  to  be  promoted  to  a 
more  advanced ,.  class  at  the  close  of  the  school  year. 
Their  recitations  and  deportment  during  the  term 
authorize  this  promotion,  rather  than  any  final  exami- 
nation after  a  short  period  of  forced  work. 

Corporal  punishment  is  now  rare  in  the  schools, 
though  men  in  middle  life  have  wonderful  stories  to 
tell  of  being  beaten  and  boxed  about  by  impatient 
teachers  in  the  days  of  their  mischievous  youth. 

Private  schools  for  boys  are  rare  in  Sweden.  There 
is  now  an  active  movement  towards  enabling  girls  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  admirable  opportunities  for  a 
thorough  education,  provided  by  the  State. 

15 


226  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

The  schools  in  Sweden  belong  to  one  great  system, 
under  the  care  of  the  State.  A  good,  plain,  sensible 
education  is  planned  and  carried  out  for  the  boys  and 
girls  of  the  people. 

All  the  schools  are  carefully  graded,  and  the  children 
are  advanced  as  strictly,  according  to  rule,  as  they 
could  be  in  a  military  academy.  There  are  seven 
classes  that  they  must  go  creditably  through,  in  order  to 
enter  the  university.  The  first  class  is  the  lowest,  and 
the  advance  is  upward  to  the  seventh  and  last.  A  boy 
passes  through  five  classes  in  five  years,  but  the  sixth 
and  seventh  classes  require  two  years ;  so  the  whole 
course  takes  nine  years,  unless  some  unusually  gifted 
boy  is  able  to  skip  one  class,  and  so  get  on  more 
rapidly.  No  boy  is  allowed  to  enter  these  schools 
under  nine  years  of  age ;  but  by  entering  the  second 
class,  he  can  avoid  being  more  than  eight  years  at 
school.  There  is  no  regular  weekly  or  monthly  report 
sent  home ;  but  each  pupil  is  provided  with  a  book,  in 
which  any  striking  failures  or  shortcomings,  mentally 
or  morally,  may  give  him  a  register  of  disapproval. 
These  books  must  be  brought  home  on  Saturday,  and 
signed  by  a  parent  or  guardian,  to  indicate  that  they 
have  been  shown  to  these  authorities,  as  the  rules  of 
the  school  require.  It  is  the  pride  of  a  boy  to  have 
this  book  blank,  term  after  term,  save  for  these  requi- 
site signatures.  One  scholar  of  our  acquaintance  got 
no  mark  of  disapproval  through  his  whole  schooldays, 
excepting  one  for  losing  the  precious  book  of  dis- 
approbation, and  so  requiring  a  new  one.  The  parents 
are  encouraged  to  visit  the  schools  often,  listen  to  the 
recitations,  and  find  out  whether  their  children  are 
giving  satisfaction. 

At  the  close  of  each  term  a  printed  certificate  is 


THE   SEVEN  AGES.  227 

sent  to  the  parents,  showing  the  average  standard  of  a 
pupil,  according  to  the  report  of  all  the  teachers  of  his 
class.  If  he  has  not  done  moderately  well,  he  must 
stay  in  the  same  class  one  year  more,  —  which  is  con- 
sidered a  painful  disgrace,  and  has  its  own  opprobrious 
names  among  the  boys. 

To  keep  a  good  standing  requires  constant  hard 
study  for  most  boys,  and  many  have  what  is  called 
an  "  informator,"  a  private  tutor,  who  prepares  them  at 
home  for  the  lessons  they  are  to  recite  at  school. 
Sometimes  a  parent  or  a  brother  or  sister  undertakes 
the  same  duty,  and  does  it  faithfully  and  efficiently. 
A  boy  of  eleven  years  of  age  may  be  learning  to  read 
and  write  four  languages  (German,  French,  English, 
and  Latin),  beside  his  own  (Latin  is  required  only  if 
he  is  preparing  for  the  learned  professions),  geometry, 
botany,  physiology,  ancient  history,  and  the  history  of 
his  own  country,  to  which  great  attention  is  paid. 
Arithmetic  is,  of  course,  at  no  time  neglected,  but 
algebra  is  taken  up  later. 

The  difference  between  a  school-boy  and  a  student  is 
strongly  marked.  When  the  youth  has  once  donned 
his  white  velvet  student  cap,  adorned  in  front  with  its 
little  rosette  in  the  Swedish  colors,  blue  and  yellow,  he 
feels  he  has  left  his  childhood  almost  as  fully  behind 
him  as  if  his  head  were  white  with  age.  The  wisdom, 
however,  of  riper  years  is  hardly  to  be  expected  yet, 
as  his  sure  portion. 

"  The  lover,  sighing  like  furnace,"  should  exist  in 
Sweden,  if  anywhere ;  for  it  is  often  long  before  he 
gives  any  other  sign  of  his  inward  woes,  even  to  the 
chosen  of  his  heart.  As  to  whether  he  writes  any 
"woful  ballad"  on  the  subject,  his  private  common- 
place-book could  probably  give  the  best  testimony. 


228  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Real  affection,  founded  on  a  thorough  acquaintance 
has  little  chance  to  grow  up  between  the  young  of  the 
higher  classes,  where  the  sexes  see  so  little  of  each 
other  in  a  friendly  and  natural  way.  Hardly  any 
cavalier  would  be  so  presuming  as  to  call  in  the 
evening  at  a  house  where  he  had  been  previously 
invited.  To  join  a  young  lady  in  the  street  is  not 
allowable,  unless  the  two  are  engaged,  and  to  offer  her 
his  arm  would  be  almost  a  proposal  of  marriage.  The 
late  family  supper  may  be  one  reason  that  evening 
calls  from  old  or  young  are  so  rare.  To  pay  a  visit  in 
the  evening  means,  in  most  cases,  simply  to  invite 
oneself  to  supper. 

At  evening  entertainments,  the  married  ladies  and 
elderly  spinsters  are  generally  to  be  found  in  one  room, 
the  highest  in  rank  occupying  the  sofas.  In  another, 
the  older  gentlemen  are  freely  chatting.  In  a  third, 
the  young  girls  are  clustered,  simply  dressed,  often 
looking  very  pretty,  and  saying  very  little.  The  young 
gentlemen  range  restlessly  about,  trying  to  be  satisfied 
with  listening  to  their  elders,  but  helplessly  drawn, 
from  time  to  time,  about  the  door  of  the  cage,  where  the 
sweet  birds  are  fluttering  with  beating  maidenly  hearts, 
though  they  do  maintain  such  modest  composure. 

So  a  sentimental  admiration  for  this  or  that  fair 
charmer  may  grow  up  and  ripen  into  a  purpose  and 
a  hope  for  future  life ;  but  it  often  has  no  foundation 
in  knowledge  of  her  fitness  to  make  a  happy  home  for 
the  secretly  sighing  lover. 

In  dancing-parties  the  case  is  quite  different.  A 
perfect  stranger,  in  Sweden  as  elsewhere,  may  be  intro- 
duced to  a  young  lady,  invite  her  to  waltz,  and  whirl 
her  away  without  further  hesitation,  and  chat  with 
her,  as  he  best  can,  in  the  few  moments  before  the 
next  dance  begins. 


THE   SEVEN  AGES. 

It  happens,  in  this  way,  that  the  young  people  of 
the  marriageable  age  in  Sweden  often  know  little  of 
each  other  satisfactorily  before  the  proposal  is  made, 
and  they  are  betrothed.  Their  names  stand  together  in 
the  newspaper  and  on  betrothal  cards  for  their  friends. 
They  are  feted  and  congratulated,  when  they  can  have 
very  little  idea  whether  they  have  done  a  wise  or  a 
rash  thing,  in  forming  the  new  connection.  Cousins, 
of  course,  are  on  free,  natural  terms,  and  often  marry 
each  other,  especially  among  the  noble  families.  Some- 
times the  sisters  marry  the  brothers'  companions,  or 
the  brothers  the  sisters',  known  perhaps  from  child- 
hood, so  that  they  have  together  the  life-long  pleasure 
of  "  Don't  you  remember  ? "  as  they  talk  over  the  days 
of  their  youth. 

It  may  happen  that  a  young  man  of  twenty-two, 
or  younger,  has  a  little  girl  for  a  pet.  He  watches 
over  her,  waits  for  her,  in  fact,  though  no  one  knows 
it,  and  comes  early  with  his  proposal,  and  wins  the 
day,  and  likes  to  tell  how  he  has  loved  his  wife  from 
her  very  childhood. 

However  all  this  may  be,  betrothals  take  place,  the 
time  of  waiting  goes  by,  be  it  long  or  short,  and  the 
"  first  publishing  day  "  comes  at  last.  Then  the  bridal 
presents  pour  in,  —  tokens  of  love,  or  conventional 
gifts,  in  Sweden,  as  in  other  lands. 

The  bride's  green  myrtle  crown  (much  like  a  little 
upturned  basket)  is  twined,  it  often  happens,  from  a 
little  plant  of  her  own,  nurtured  under  her  care. 

The  wedding  takes  place,  —  it  may  be  at  a  hotel,  if 
the  apartment  of  the  parents  is  not  so  large  as  the 
circle  of  their  friends  may  require ;  and  the  wedding- 
dinner  may  also  be  at  a  hotel,  and  cost  any  amount 
of  money,  but  no  loss  of  social  prestige  because  all 


230  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

has  not  taken  place  under  the  parental  roof.  During 
the  engagement  the  lovers  have  been,  if  not  like  the 
birds,  little  by  little  building  their  nest,  planning  and 
buying,  and  even  arranging  together  their  pretty  new 
home,  of  which  they  take  possession  at  once,  or  after 
a  journey. 

There  are  vacancies  at  two  firesides,  where  mothers 
are  striving  unselfishly  to  make  love  for  two,  or  consola- 
tion for  the  daily  loss  of  one,  who  has  so  long  nestled 
in  the  parental  heart.  In  time  the  gladness  in  the  new 
home  brings  its  bright  reflection  to  the  old. 

Every  Swede  is  now,  in  a  certain  sense,  a  soldier, 
though,  we  may  hope,  not  "  full  of  strange  oaths,"  and 
during  the  long  peace  that  has  prevailed  in  the  North, 
not  prompted  to  seek  "  the  bubble  reputation  even  in 
the  cannon's  mouth."  A  military  drill  is  a  part  of  the 
instruction  of  boys,  in  some  of  the  schools ;  and  an 
entrance-room  may  be  seen  adorned  with  their  small 
equipments,  like  a  miniature  armory. 

When  a  young  man  is  twenty-one  years  old,  he 
must  spend  ninety  days  in  camp  under  epauletted 
superiors,  going  through  the  regular  exercises  of  a 
soldier,  and  living  possibly  on  a  simple  soldier's  fare. 

Young  officers  in  the  Swedish  army  have  always 
availed  themselves  of  foreign  wars,  as  a  school  in  which 
to  learn  their  "  dreadful  trade."  During  the  Franco- 
German  struggle  two  friends,  Swedish  lieutenants, 
were  engaged  on  opposite  sides  in  the  contending 
armies.  They  met  in  the  smoke  and  din  of  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  each  bravely  leading  his  divi- 
sion. There  was  a  moment  of  recognition,  a  step 
forward,  a  warm  clasp  of  the  hand,  and  then  both 
turned  to  the  awful  business  of  the  hour.  One  of  those 
young  men  is  now  the  Swedish  minister  of  war,  ready 


THE  SEVEN  AGES. 


231 


at  any  time  to  use  his  experience  in  the  council-room 
or  in  the  field  for  his  beloved  native  land. 

The  old  soldiers  of  the  Swedish  army  are  provided 
with  a  cottage  and  bit  of  land,  as  their  pension ;  and 
by  many  a  lonely  fireside  worn  veterans  have  "  fought 
their  battles  over,"  for  groups  of  humble  listeners  to 
their  tales  of  woe. 

Kuneberg's  stirring,  touching  poems  on  the  great 
Finnish  struggle  (F<m- 
rik  Stals  Sdgner*)  for- 
cibly bring  out  the 
power  of  such  old  tales 
to  stir  the  heart. 

That  the  Swedes  are 
good  material  for  sol- 
diers, and  can  make 
most  skilful  military 
leaders,  is  sufficiently 
proved  by  the  well- 
known  history  of  their 
glorious  past. 

Prosperity  and  good 
dinners  are  apt  to  write 
their  story  on  the  out- 
ward man,  whether  the 

conqueror  in  the  struggle  of  life  has  won  his  laurels,  as 
a  justice  of  local  honor,  or  has  attained  a  higher  celeb- 
rity in  a  wider  field.  The  tall,  gaunt  men  of  distinc- 
tion are  rare  in  Sweden.  They  generally  need  a  uniform 
of  capacious  dimensions ;  and  a  uniform  Svea  generally 
manages  to  give  them,  that  they  may  appear  properly 
on  State  occasions.  As  to  the  "  wise  saws  and  modern 
instances,"  he  will  probably  leave  proverbs  to  his 
fellow-citizens  in  humble  life,  and  elegantly  confine 


DESOLATE. 


232  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

himself  to  such  "  modern  instances  "  as  can  adorn  and 
illustrate  his  somewhat  studied  conversation,  and  will, 
on  the  whole,  be  most  unlike  the  awe-inspiring  justice 
of  poaching  of  "  Will  Shakespeare's  "  memory. 

Svea,  having  so  many  departments  of  life  and  labor 
under  her  own  control,  must  naturally  appoint  many 
officers  serving  the  State  in  most  varied  capacities.  A 
place  is  made  for  the  crowds  of  young  aspirants  to 
favor,  by  the  systematic  retiring  of  the  old  on  a 
more  or  less  satisfactory  pension  for  declining  years. 
Bishops  and  other  clerical  dignitaries  and  laborers  are 
not  retired ;  they  are  supposed  to  have  enlisted  for 
life,  and  to  teach  perhaps  by  a  rounded  Christian 
example  when  a  more  active  career  becomes  by 
degrees  impossible  for  them.  A  University  professor 
can  retire  on  a  pension  at  sixty-five.  A  governor  is 
expected  to  resign  soon  after  he  is  seventy,  and  his 
place  will  probably  be  taken  by  an  ex-cabinet  minister, 
for  whom  some  honorable  position  is  generally  pro- 
vided. Formerly  an  old  or  disabled  officer  was  some- 
times made  a  postmaster,  though  persons  under  him 
practically  performed  all  the  duties  appertaining 
to  the  position.  This  mode  of  pensioning  is  now 
abandoned. 

The  decline  of  life  is  perhaps  more  thorny  for  a 
man  in  old  Sweden  than  in  young  America.  "The 
lean  and  slippered  pantaloon  "  is  more  dreaded  when 
power  and  prominence  are  more  highly  prized,  through 
the  organization  of  society.  There  are  in  the  upper 
circles  splendid  specimens  of  old  men,  in  full  posses- 
sion of  their  faculties,  who  have  the  wisdom  and  the 
strength  and  the  exalted  character  that  command 
respect  for  the  hoary  head,  and  even  enthusiastic 
admiration. 


THE   SEVEN  AGES.  233 

In  humble  life,  one  may  have  a  different  picture,  but 
almost  as  attractive.  The  striking  figure  comes  to 
mind  of  "  Old  Johannes,"  a  laboring-man  who  had 
lived  at  a  bishop's  seat  while  three  right-reverends 
came  and  passed  away.  Old  Johannes  had  the  same 
right  to  be  a  fixture  on  the  premises  as  the  great 
lindens  that  had  grown  and  flourished  on  the  soil, 
and  now  towered  in  a  green  old  age.  His  one  room 
in  a  long  low  building  was  his  castle,  and  there  he 
suffered  no  foot  but  his  own  to  enter ;  there  he 
slept  and  cooked  and  read,  as  pleased  him  best.  When 
he  lunged  away  to  church  on  a  Sunday,  the  three- 
mile  walk  was  nothing  for  his  stalwart  figure  and  his 
strong  limbs.  He  worked,  when  he  pleased,  in  the 
garden,  and  brought  his  bill  in  the  shape  of  a  stick, 
where  his  days  of  labor  were  marked  by  notches,  with 
Sunday  blanks  between.  So  Johannes  kept  his  reckon- 
ing ;  but  he  was  a  reader,  nevertheless.  He  might  be 
seen  at  the  noonday  rest,  sitting  on  a  bench  in  a  green 
plot  beside  the  raspberry  bushes,  lost  in  the  book  he 
held  in  his  hand.  It  was  a  queer  little  pamphlet, 
bound  in  wall  paper  by  his  own  hands.  And  what 
was  this  favorite  old  companion,  restored  with  fresh 
covers,  but  yellow  within  ?  "  The  Imitation  of  Christ " 
stood  on  the  titlepage  in  Swedish.  So  Johannes,  the 
stout  Lutheran,  was  strengthened  and  comforted  in  his 
old  age  by  the  devout  words  of  the  Catholic  Thomas 
k  Kempis. 

The  period  of  "sans  everything"  seems  to  come 
rarely  to  the  modern  Swede.  To  be  "  sans  teeth  "  is 
exceptional  everywhere,  in  these  days  of  dental  tri- 
umphs. Second  sight  comes  to  the  octogenarian  to 
bid  him  lay  by  his  spectacles,  and  tender  care  often 
conceals  and  supplements  a  really  broken  old  man's 


234  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

deficiencies,  or  shuts  him  up  to  a  circle  where,  wreck 
as  he  is,  he  is  still  precious. 

It  is  only  the  exceptionally  strong  constitution 
which  enables  the  old  to  survive  to  great  age  in  the 
severe  northern  climate.  In  time,  such  an  old  per- 
son, in  any  station  of  life,  becomes  the  boast  of  the 
neighborhood,  and  has  a  cheerful  and  honored  sunset 
after  the  labors  of  long  life.  When  death  claims  him 
at  last,  there  will  be  a  little  special  paragraph  in 
which  his  death  is  announced,  with  a  few  kindly 
words  about  the  departed,  which  will  be  read  with 
interest  by  the  many  who  remember  the  hoary  head, 
and  especially  by  those  who  have  followed  it  with  a 
feeling  of  tender  regret  to  its  last  quiet  resting-place 
in  the  peaceful  churchyard. 


III. 

WHAT  SVEA  DOES  FOR  HER  CHILDREN. 


SHAKING  HANDS   WITH   SVEA. 

MATERNAL  CARE. 

UPSALA. 

EMIGRATION. 


IN    MOURNING. 


MATERNAL   CAEE. 

SVEA  is  a  busy  mother.  Of  course  she  governs  her 
children.  As  to  how  she  arranges  this  part  of 
her  duties,  some  inkling  has  been  given.  There  are  a 
hundred  other  matters,  however,  that  claim  her  ma- 
ternal attention.  Sometimes  Svea's  children  almost 
ungratefully  complain  of  her  too  assiduous  care,  and 
maintain  that  they  have  too  much  done  for  them,  and 
that  there  are  many  things  they  should  like  to  try  to 
manage  for  themselves. 

Svea  is  a  stanch  adherent  of  Luther.  On  the  great 
Reformer's  rules  for  doctrine  and  practice  she  bases  her 
religious  instruction  ;  and  religious  instruction  is  one 
of  her  strong  points,  of  which  she  is  proud.1  She 
builds  cathedrals  and  churches,  small  and  great,  for  her 
children,  and  sets  over  them  clergymen  of  all  grades, 
to  administer  the  sacred  offices  and  conduct  public 
worship.  She  gives  them  a  book,  "  Psalmbok,"  con- 
taining five  hundred  authoritatively  issued  hymns 
(many  of  them  most  admirable),  as  well  as  a  full, 
devout,  and  beautiful  liturgy,  not  unlike  the  "  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  "  so  much  beloved  by  many  Ameri- 
cans. Svea  teaches  her  children  to  say  "  We  believe  " 
in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  "  I,  poor  sinful  child  of 

1  The  Church  Convention,  composed  of  the  bishops  and  many 
clerical  and  lay  members,  meets  every  three  years  at  Stockholm.  At 
the  meeting  in  1893  it  was  decided  that  no  child  should  be  confirmed 
before  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  all  young  people  should  be  reported 
for  Confirmation  before  seventeen  years  of  age. 


238  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

man,"  in  the  opening  of  her  confession  of  sins.  The 
litany  she  uses  only  on  special  days  and  occasions. 
(She  does  not  like  to  think  of  that  old-time  French- 
man's additional  petition,  "From  the  ravages  of  the 
Northmen,  Good  Lord,  deliver  us  ! "  ) 

The  Swedish  service  is  a  little  too  long  to  be  followed 
throughout  devotionally.  Nearly  the  whole  service  is 
often  gone  through  with  by  the  congregation  sitting. 
Kneeling  in  prayer  is  uncommon.  Svea  provides  her 
clergy  with  priestly  garments,  according  to  their  station 
and  functions.  At  the  altar  they  may  appear  in  a 
velvet  cope,  with  a  huge  silver  or  gold  cross,  with  ac- 
cessories embroidered  on  the  back,  or  they  may  officiate 
in  a  simple  sleeveless  gown,  falling  behind  from  a  yoke, 
with  an  effect  somewhat  like  that  of  a  Watteau  dress. 
These  folds  may  be  thrown  over  the  arm,  after  a  private 
ceremony  in  a  family.  A  bishop  need  not  be  officially 
dressed,  or  have  mitre  or  crosier  in  ordinary  services  ; 
but  at  the  consecration  of  a  church  all  these  marks  of 
dignity  are  obligatory. 

Sweden  needs  more  churches  and  smaller  parishes. 
Some  of  the  latter  are  so  large  in  extent  that  they 
number  tens  of  thousands  of  parishioners, —  too  many 
for  pastoral  care,  though  there  may  be  six  clergymen 
attached  to  a  city  church.  The  people  themselves  are, 
however,  setting  this  matter  right.  They  are  building 
or  hiring  simple  places  of  worship,  and  supporting 
their  own  clergymen,  while  they  are  still  bound  to 
pay  their  taxes  for  the  maintenance  of  the  State 
Church.  In  their  own  chapels  they  have  extempore 
prayer,  and  sing  what  hymns  they  choose;  they  are 
very  fond  of  the  so-called  "  Sankey's  Hymns,"  of  which 
there  are  several  translations,  of  various  degrees  of 
imperfection.  In  these  places  of  worship  preach  or- 


MATERNAL  CARE.  239 

dained  priests,  authorized  exhorters,  colporteurs,  laymen 
of  all  callings,  and  even  "  devout  women,  not  a  few." 
Svea  has  not  liked  this  very  well,  but  she  is  growing 
tender  towards  these  wandering  sheep,  and  may  some- 
times be  heard  murmuring,  •'  If  the  dears  get  good 
pasture  there,  and  are  kept  safe  from  the  wolves,  why 
should  I  care  ?  That  is  really  what  I  want,  with  all 
my  arrangements  they  complain  so  much  about." 

Education  Svea  ranks  next  to  godliness,  and  a  drill- 
ing in  the  right  direction  as  to  religious  doctrine  and 
practice  she  counts  a  fundamental  part  of  education. 
The  Catechism,  Bible  History,  and  Church  History 
are  essential  factors  in  the  instruction  she  provides  for 
her  children.  The  heresies  are  so  particularly  described 
and  defined,  and  must  be  learned  with  such  accu- 
racy, that  the  Augsburg  Confession  has  hard  work  to 
keep  its  ground  in  the  young  mind. 

After  this  so-called  "  Instruction  in  Christianity,"  the 
studies  considered  of  the  next  importance  are  the  His- 
tory and  Geography  of  Sweden.  There  were  never 
more  admirable  text-books  than  those  prepared  for 
Swedish  children  to  teach  them  the  history  of  their  own 
country.  They  are  not  dry  outlines,  mere  skeletons. 
They  are  more  like  the  lithe  slender  figure  of  a  strip- 
ling, to  be  afterwards  filled  out  to  true  muscular  manly 
vigor  and  graceful  stately  proportions.  Swedish  chil- 
dren love  the  history  of  their  country.  They  revel  in 
its  details  and  talk  about  its  great  men  as  if  they  had 
the  honor  of  their  personal  acquaintance.  Perhaps 
those  heroes  do  not  exactly  remind  them  that  they 
may  "make  their  lives  sublime,"  but  they  prompt 
them  to  try  to  be  upright,  brave,  honorable,  and  useful 
Swedes  in  their  own  day,  worthy  of  the  past  of  the 
country  of  which  they  are  so  proud. 


240  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

The  geography  of  Sweden  is  difficult  to  master  in  its 
full  details.  The  numerous  rivers  of  the  North  run 
down  to  the  coast  with  so  provokingly  similar  slope,  and 
with  so  little  individuality,  that  it  makes  the  head  of 
many  a  tired  scholar  actie  as  he  tries  to  keep  these 
monotonous  rivers  in  right  order,  and  give  their  names 
out  glibly  in  proper  sequence  at  the  word  of  command. 
Then  there  are  twenty-four  provinces,  —  not  hard  to 
outline  and  keep  in  memory,  for  they  have  all  some  pe- 
culiar characteristics  and  associations  for  the  Swedish 
mind;  but,  the  provinces  once  mastered,  the  twenty- 
four  Ian,  or  districts  for  local  government,  are  to  be 
fixed  in  the  mind;  and  as  their  boundaries  do  not 
always  correspond  with  those  of  the  provinces,  this  is 
not  an  easy  matter  for  the  child.  Each  Ian  has  its 
own  governor,  appointed  for  life,  who  generally  has  his 
home  provided  for  him,  called  residenset,  meaning  the 
same  as  "  the  gubernatorial  mansion  "  in  old  New  Eng- 
land phrase. 

In  addition  to  the  provinces  and  the  Ian,  the  child 
must  learn  the  location  and  extent  of  the  dioceses  of 
the  twelve  bishops.  All  this  is  easily  crammed  into 
the  mind  for  the  day's  recitation,  but  to  have  it  "  stay 
put "  is  quite  another  matter.  The  largest  cities,  the 
university  towns,  the  route  of  the  railroads,  canals,  and 
even  the  principal  railroad  stations  are  required,  as  well 
as  a  full  outline  of  the  physical  geography  of  Sweden. 
As  to  the  railroad  stations,  some  new  and  extraordi- 
nary mode  of  locomotion  may  be  in  vogue  before  the 
child  has  had  sufficient  use  for  this  bit  of  knowledge 
acquired  so  conscientiously,  who  knows  ? 

In  mental  arithmetic,  Swedes  are  not  so  prompt 
and  expert  as  the  Americans,  but  they  have  far  more 
facility  in  learning  foreign  languages,  and  much  is  ex- 


MATERNAL  CARE.  241 

pected  of  them  in  this  latter  particular.  At  eleven 
years  of  age  a  Swedish  boy  may  be  studying  three  lan- 
guages besides  his  own,  at  Mother  Svea's  expense. 

Svea  has  good  schools  for  her  working-classes,  where 
they  can  have  a  plain,  sensible  education.  The  attend- 
ance of  the  children  is  compulsory  until  they  are  twelve 
years  of  age,  unless  the  parents  can  show  some  strin- 
gent reason  for  keeping  them  at  home.  These  schools 
are  under  the  charge  of  inspectors,  who  must  travel 
about  and  acquaint  themselves  with  the  capacity,  dis- 
cipline, and  character  of  the  teachers. 

Graded  schools  of  another  outline  of  studies  are  pro- 
vided by  Svea,  where  her  boys  are  prepared  for  the 
University  at  a  trifling  expense,  a  mere  fee  for  con- 
tingent expenses.  The  requisites  for  examination  for 
the  universities  are  the  same  all  over  Sweden.  For 
these  higher  schools  there  are  special  examiners  and 
censors  provided.  The  examinations  for  the  University 
generally  take  place  at  the  school  where  the  pupil  has 
been  studying.  This  examination  creditably  passed,  he 
receives  his  white  student's  cap  at  once,  is  rejoiced 
over  by  his  friends  and  relations,  and  is  perhaps  tossed 
in  the  air  by  his  jubilant  comrades.  In  his  home  the 
new  student  is  sure  of  a  loving  welcome,  followed 
by  festivities  as  joyous  and  hospitable  as  the  condition 
of  the  family  will  permit. 

He  wears  his  white  cap  henceforward,  he  has  been 
confirmed,  and  Svea  pronounces  him  a  Christian  youth, 
responsible  for  his  own  actions.  He  may  now  go  to 
the  University,  and  is  expected  to  bear  himself  there 
studiously,  respectably,  and  honorably,  —  expectations 
that  are  often  abundantly  fulfilled,  but  there  may  be 
a  dark,  dark  side  to  this  picture. 

Svea  does  not  neglect  the  education  and   training 

16 


242  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

of  the  blind  and  the  deaf  and  dumb.  The  blind  in 
Sweden,  as  elsewhere,  read  by  means  of  raised  letters, 
and  make  all  sorts  of  pretty  things,  that  have  a  double 
value  because  their  beauty  has  never  been  seen  by 
those  who  made  them. 

The  deaf  do  not  hear,  but  the  dumb  speak.  One 
may  see  a  gentleman  with  a  well-formed  mouth  sitting 
before  a  large  semicircle  of  pupils.  Every  eye  is  fixed 
upon  him.  He  is  perhaps  hearing  a  lesson  in  Bible 
history.  Question  after  question  is  asked  by  the 
teacher,  exactly  as  if  his  attentive  class  could  hear 
him.  They  have  read  what  he  was  saying  on  his  flex- 
ible mouth,  and  answer  in  voices  of  various  quality 
and  in  various  degrees  of  development.  Some  have  a 
guttural  sound,  some  are  clear  and  natural  and  even 
agreeable,  while  others  have  the  high  pitch  and  stac- 
cato deliverance  of  the  old-time  country  school  in 
America.  All  goes  on  so  smoothly  that  the  observer 
soon  forgets  that  he  is  surrounded  by  the  deaf  and 
dumb,  and  must  summon  his  wits  about  him  to  be 
properly  filled  with  wonder  and  admiration  at  this 
modern  miracle  of  instruction. 

There  are  thirty  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind  unfortunates 
in  Sweden,  according  to  the  last  statistical  report.  A 
number  of  them  are  under  regular  instruction  at 
Vennersborg,  under  the  care  of  a  most  warm-hearted, 
gifted,  and  ingenious  teacher,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Nordin. 
It  is  in  a  measure  owing  to  the  Queen  of  Sweden  that 
these  afflicted  children  have  found  help  in  their  time  of 
need.  Mrs.  Nordin,  who  was  already  a  skilful  teacher 
of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  received  her  first  blind  deaf 
mute  at  the  request  of  her  Majesty,  who  had  found  the 
child  in  a  humble  home,  treated  by  its  parents  more 
like  a  domestic  animal  than  a  human  being.  Aided 


MATERNAL   CARE.  243 

almost  alone  by  her  own  ingenuity,  Mrs.  Nordin  began 
the  instruction  of  this  new  pupil.  The  child  was 
uugoverned  in  every  way,  and  resisted  valiantly,  in  the 
beginning,  all  efforts  at  control.  When  we  first  saw  her, 
she  was  seated  in  a  corner  of  the  school-room,  surrounded 
by  a  fence  of  chairs,  that  she  might  be  reminded  of  the 
limits  within  which  she  was  to  remain.  She  received, 
that  day,  her  first  lesson  in  the  meaning  of  a  reward. 
Her  hand  was  helped  to  put  some  blocks  into  a  small 
box  on  the  table,  at  first  one  by  one,  and  then  two  at  a 
time.  She  was  then  allowed  to  taste  a  highly  flavored 
bonbon  for  a  moment,  after  which  her  hand  holding 
two  blocks  was  moved  rapidly  towards  the  box  again 
and  again,  and  then  came  another  taste  of  the  sweet 
bonbon.  After  this  had  been  repeated  several  times, 
she  understood  that  she  was  to  gain  something  by 
diligence  and  obedience.  In  a  few  moments  she  had 
hurried  all  the  remaining  blocks  into  the  box,  and 
highly  enjoyed  the  little  feast  that  followed.  This  girl 
is  now  almost  grown  up.  She  is  not  intellectually 
disposed,  but  has  acquired  the  elements  of  a  plain 
education.  She  is  exceedingly  skilful  in  many  kinds 
of  handiwork,  and  has  had  great  pleasure  in  presenting 
a  gay  woollen  blanket  of  her  own  making  to  the 
Queen,  her  benefactress. 

One  of  Mrs.  Nordin's  pupils,  Johan  (John)  Nilsson, 
is  a  very  remarkable  boy,  and  deserves  to  be  classed 
with  Laura  Bridgman  and  the  other  new  American 
wonders  among  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind.  John  has  a 
sunny,  affectionate  disposition,  and  a  most  agreeable 
personal  appearance.  There  is  nothing  about  him  to 
indicate  to  a  stranger  that  his  senses  were  in  any  way 
deficient.  He  is  as  fond  of  play  as  of  study,  and  has  a 
most  merry,  musical,  mirth-provoking  laugh.  It  was 


244  PICTURES   OF   SWEDISH   LIFE. 

interesting  to  see  him,  when  visiting  a  family  where 
there  were  many  children,  giving  a  pretended  lesson  in 
gymnastics.  He  ranged  the  boys  and  girls  in  order, 
and  then  made  the  motion  he  desired  to  have  imitated, 
'feeling  rapidly  along  the  line  of  pupils  to  see  if  he 
were  obeyed,  and  was  not  slow  to  administer  correction 
if  his  scholars  were  poor  imitators  or  wilfully  refrac- 
tory. John  understood  early,  it  seems,  the  meaning  of 
discipline.  Shortly  after  he  came  under  Mrs.  Nordin's 
care,  before  he  had  learned  any  system  of  communica- 
tion, he  had  a  little  china  doll,  with  its  bed  and  bed- 
stead, given  to  him.  He  accidentally  broke  the  doll's 
arm ;  at  once  laid  it  in  its  bed,  matched  the  arm  to  the 
place  of  fracture,  and  then  spread  the  little  covering 
over  bed  and  dolly  and  broken  arm.  He  had  thought 
himself  alone,  but  his  teacher  had  been  carefully  watch- 
ing him  from  a  distant  part  of  the  room.  She  imme- 
diately went  to  him,  made  his  hand  uncover  the  doll 
and  feel  the  broken  arm ;  then  on  his  own  arm  she 
gave  him  some  sharp  slaps.  Years  afterwards,  while 
teaching  him  the  nature  of  a  lie,  she  asked  him  if  he  had 
ever  deceived  before  he  could  communicate  by  words. 
He  immediately  told  this  story,  which  had  never  since 
been  alluded  to  between  them,  and  said  that  he  then 
understood  perfectly  why  he  had  been  punished. 

We  say  said,  and  he  himself  makes  use  of  the  same 
word,  meaning  "  communicated,  "  as  he  does  of  saw  for 
"  took  cognizance  of."  John  can  now  say  what  he 
wishes  with  his  vocal  organs,  as  well  as  with  his  fingers 
and  by  signs.  He  can  put  together  long  sentences,  and 
utter  them  so  that  they  can  be  understood,  having 
learned  to  do  so  through  the  explanations  of  his 
teacher  as  to  how  to  use  his  own  organs,  and  by  plac- 
ing his  hand  on  her  throat,  to  observe  its  movements 
while  she  was  speaking. 


MATERNAL   CARE.  245 

Svea's  Ecclesiastical  Department  does  more  than  look 
after  the  church  and  the  clergy.  It  has  its  subdivisions 
with  special  heads,  not  only  for  matters  connected 
with  education,  but  for  the  supervision  of  the  medical 
faculty,  and  providing  that  the  sons  of  Esculapius 
shall  be  found  in  remote  districts,  at  watering-places, 
and  mountain  resorts.  Every  town  must  have  its 
examined  and  authorized  accoucheuse,  who  must  not 
demand  more  than  a  crown  for  her  services.  Svea 
does  not  allow  her  children  to  be  poisoned  or  drugged 
or  unintentionally  murdered  by  extempore  or  stupid 
druggists.  The  apothecary  must  go  through  his  regular, 
though  limited,  course  of  study,  and  be  pronounced  fit 
for  his  responsible  position  by  the  lawfully  constituted 
authorities.  The  prisons  must  have  their  General 
Director  to  see  that  they  are  properly  managed  and  the 
criminals  are  not  tormented  or  made  more  depraved, 
instead  of  better,  by  their  discipline,  and  to  study  all 
the  foreign  and  modern  improvements  in  the  treatment 
of  the  offenders  against  society. 

The  poor-houses,  too,  come  under  the  Ecclesiastical 
Department.  In  Sweden,  as  elsewhere,  there  must  be 
constant  watchfulness  that  this  last  resort  of  the 
indigent  does  not  become  a  place  of  corruption  or  of 
oppression  and  suffering,  where  hungry  "  Olivers  "  are 
vainly  asking  for  "  more." 

There  are  more  than  five  hundred  newspapers  in 
Sweden.  About  one  twentieth  of  them  are  dailies. 
Svea  keeps  a  sharp  eye  on  them  all.  The  laws  provide 
that  nothing  shall  creep  into  them  that  may  be 
detrimental  to  religion,  morality,  private  character,  or 
the  sacred  majesty  of  the  King.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  liberty  of  the  press  is  strictly  guarded. 

Svea  attends  to  her  travelling  public,  owning  most  of 


246  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

the  important  railroads,  with  a  crown  on  each  car,  and 
every  official  wearing  his  appropriate  bright  buttons, 
with  perhaps  a  "  locomotive  "  stamped  on  every  one  of 
them.  The  General  Director  is  a  kind  of  Swedish  rail- 
road king,  and  may  wear  his  fine  uniform  and  sit  down 
with  princes  —  when  he  is  invited  to  do  so.  The  State 
roads  are  admirably  managed,  and  accidents  are  marvel- 
lously rare.  The  private  railroad  companies  must  look 
well  after  their  doings,  or  they  will  be  called  to  account 
and  severely  dealt  with.  Svea  telegraphs  and  tele- 
phones and  takes  charge  of  the  postal  affairs,  with  scru- 
pulous care.  The  old  post-horn  is  her  token  and  sign ; 
and  when  that  is  seen  on  a  flag,  one  knows  that  the 
vessel  that  bears  it  is  a  mail  steamer.  Svea  lias  her 
post-office  savings-books  too,  that  are  the  delight  of  the 
little  children ;  and  her  packet  post,  to  the  satisfaction 
of  their  mammas. 

Svea  thinks  her  children  must  be  amused  as  well  as 
educated  and  generally  cared  for.  Of  course  she  pro- 
vides parks  for  them  to  take  recreation  in,  but  not  of 
the  dimensions  of  the  Yellowstone  wonder.  She  does 
more.  She  takes  from  the  public  purse,  raised  by 
taxation,  such  sums  as  the  Riksdag  allows  her  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Eoyal  Theatre.  She  has  schools 
where  children  are  trained  for  the  "  boards "  and  the 
ballet,  and  seems  to  think  that  she  is  thus  showing 
mercy  to  the  "  little  ones." 

The  newspapers  keep  a  sharp  lookout  over  this  part 
of  Mother  Svea's  proceedings,  and  there  is  sure  to  be 
somebody  to  denounce  the  presentation  of  anything 
injurious,  though  Mother  Svea  does  not  always  take 
advice  and  shut  up  the  play-house  for  the  season,  or 
shut  out  the  criticised  programme. 

Though    Mother   Svea's  children   sometimes  com- 


MATERNAL   CARE.  247 

plain  that  she  is  fussy  and  old-fashioned  in  her  way 
of  caring  for  them,  after  all,  in  their  hearts,  they  are 
not  sure  that  if  they  were  to  throw  her  overboard  or 
break  away  from  her  apron-strings,  they  would  not 
have  the  fate  always  ready  for  disobedient,  naughty 
children,  and  come  to  a  bad  end.  They  really  love 
the  old  mother  at  the  bottom,  and  would  be  will- 
ing to  offer  their  lives  for  her,  if  things  came  to  the 
worst. 


248  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


UPSALA. 

THE  lover  of  what  is  really  old  and  well  worthy  of 
veneration  must  go  to  Upsala.  There  are  the  old 
mounds  of  the  old  kings ;  there  is  the  sacred  old 
Codex,  there  the  remains  of  the  old  Saint  Erik ; 
there  is  the  old  cathedral,  there  the  old  University, 
and  there  the  gifted  and  devout  old  dean. 

Long  before  what  we  now  call  Sweden  was  one 
united  country,  there  were  "  Upsala  kings. "  "  Their 
graves  are  green,  they  may  be  seen, " —  not  low,  narrow 
hillocks,  but  high,  towering  hills,  as  if  there  were 
"giants  in  those  days,"  with  "mound-builders"  to 
inter  them.  To  see  the  Codex  Argenteus,  the  treasure 
of  Christendom,  the  manuscript  where  the  story  of 
the  Cross,  as  told  by  the  Evangelist,  appears  in  the 
lost  Gothic  language,  scholars  and  modern  saints  are 
willing  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  North.  Beaming 
with  gold  and  silver,  this  relic  of  the  past  flashes 
before  the  eyes  of  the  reverent  beholder,  as  when  it 
was  translated  into  the  Gothic  by  Bishop  Ulpias, 
who  died  in  388. 

The  beautiful  old  cathedral  at  Upsala  is  the  mauso- 
leum where  rest,  in  their  silver  casket,  the  bones  of 
Sweden's  patron  saint,  and  where  lies  Gustaf  Vasa, 
the  deliverer  of  his  country,  and  the  royal  founder  of 
a  right  royal  line. 

As  to  the  old  University,  it  is  one  of  Svea's  best 
gifts  to  her  children.  Here  her  boys  —  and  her  girls 


UPSALA.  249 

too,  if  they  choose  —  may  have  a  liberal  education, 
and  be  prepared  for  the  learned  professions,  at  her 
expense,  with  but  a  small  outlay  on  their  own  part  for 
their  instruction.  This  is  Svea's  choice  garden 
ground,  her  nursery  for  the  strong  human  saplings 
to  be  her  future  pride.  At  Siind,  the  more  modern 


UPSALA     CATHEDRAL. 


university,   Svea   dispenses  her  intellectual    training 
as  liberally  as  at  Upsala. 

The  old  song  makes  the  Massachusetts  man  exclaim, 
when  visiting  the  capital  of  his  State,  after  long 
absence,  "  On  Beacon  Hill,  I  ask,  where  's  Boston  ? " 
It  is  with  something  of  the  same  astonishment  that 
the  stranger  looks  about  him  on  arriving  at  Upsala. 
"  Where  is  the  university  town  ?  "  The  stately  cathe- 
dral points  its  twin  spires  heavenward,  and  the  old 
castle  sits  above  its  grassy  slopes  and  cherishes  its 
historical  memories ;  but  where  is  the  University  ? 


250  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

An  American,  who  has  seen  the  rapid  growth  of 
magnificent  edifices,  springing  up  as  by  magic  when 
a  new  college  has  been  magnificently  endowed ;  an 
Englishman,  accustomed  to  the  countless  grand  old 
buildings,  and  the  bewildering  beauty  of  the  still, 
green,  classic  shades  of  Oxford,  looks  about  him  in 
vain  for  anything  that  indicates  the  existence  of  the 
Upsala  of  his  imagination.  If  he  should  risk  speak- 
ing out  to  a  Swede  the  questionings  that  are  throng- 
ing his  mind,  he  might  receive  the  proudly  spoken 
answer,  in  words  familiar  to  him,  but  having  a  new 
ring,  "  We  do  not  raise  buildings,  we  raise  men ! " 

Many  of  the  men  of  whom  Upsala  is  deservedly 
proud,  have  their  names  now  standing  forth  in  the 
daylight,  wreathing  round  the  imposing  edifice  that 
was  built  for  university  purposes,  and  opened  with 
imposing  ceremonies  in  1887.  The  vestibule  is  par- 
ticularly striking,  spacious,  and  beautiful,  and  the 
"  aula, "  the  galleried  hall  of  assembly,  is  very  fine, 
and  well  adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  used. 
After  the  opening  public  exercises  of  the  "  New  Uni- 
versity Building, "  there  was  an  elegant  reception  at 
the  castle,  the  home  of  the  Governor,  where  the  King 
was  one  of  the  guests,  mingling  freely  with  his  sub- 
jects, —  now  passing  his  arm  round  the  neck  of  one 
gentleman  for  a  close  conversation,  and  now  clapping 
another  on  the  shoulder,  to  arrest  his  attention  and 
attract  him  for  a  little  important  talk  in  the  privacy 
of  a  crowd. 

The  buildings  at  Upsala  are  really  neither  very 
numerous,  striking,  nor  beautiful,  but  it  would  be 
almost  sacrilege  to  say  so  to  a  Swede,  to  whom  every 
one  of  them  is  precious,  and  haloed  round  by  a  gloria 
of  associations,  from  the  revered  past,  or  from  the 
sunny  days  of  his  own  youth  at  the  University. 


UPSALA.  251 

Unfortunately,  most  strangers  visit  Upsala  in  sum- 
mer, which  is  much  like  looking  into  "  the  children's 
play-room  "  in  a  country  home  when  the  little  ones 
were  all  out  in  the  sunshine  among  the  birds  and 
flowers ;  or,  perhaps,  more  like  a  frozen  northern 
ocean,  instead  of  the  wild  tossing  waves  of  a  summer 
sea.  The  thronging  "  white  caps "  of  Upsala  are 
necessary  items  for  a  full  appreciation  even  of  the 
exterior  of  the  old  university  town. 

Young  heads  must  have  a  puzzling  time  of  severe 
study  and  close  examination  before  the  white  cap  can 
be  lawfully  put  on.  The  subjects  for  Swedish  com- 
position are  not  given  out  until  the  very  day  of  trial, 
and  the  moment  when  the  young  candidates  are  seated 
in  the  hall  with  their  blank  sheets  of  paper  before 
them ;  then  and  there  the  work  of  authorship  must  be 
effected. 

The  subjects  given  out  in  May,  1893,  were  as 
follows  (each  youth  being  allowed  to  choose  from  the 
list  presented) :  — 

I.  The  Koman  Catholic  doctrine  of  indulgences. 

II.  The  victories  of  Marathon  and  Salamis  compared 
with  Breitenfeld  and  Leutzen. 

III.  The  Revolution  of  July,  its  causes  and  immedi- 
ate consequences. 

IV.  The  import  of  the  Reformation  to  Sweden,  politi- 
cally considered. 

V.  Speech  at  the  unveiling  of  Stenbock's  monument 
at  Helsingborg. 

VI.  George  Stjernhjelm,  the  father  of  Swedish  poetry. 

VII.  The  nature,   resources,  and  future  of   Norrland 
(meaning  the  northern  part  of  Sweden). 

VIII.  A  little   hummock  often  upsets  a  whole   load 
(proverb). 


252  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Competent  judges  say  that  the  proficiency  or  ad- 
vancement in  study  required  for  entrance  to  the 
Swedish  universities  is  about  the  same  as  for  admis- 
sion to  the  junior  class  of  most  American  colleges. 
Without  a  university  degree  a  Swede  cannot  be  a 
judge,  a  physician,  or  a  clergyman ;  and  it  is  a  requi- 
site for  many  public  positions  in  the  gift  of  the  State. 
Such  a  degree  once  in  a  young  man's  possession,  it 
is  more  important  for  his  future  than  that  his  name 
should  stand  among  the  noblest  families  in  the  "  Book 
of  the  Peerage ;  "  and  this  valuable  paper  the  man  of 
humblest  birth  may  have,  if  his  ability  and  his 
pecuniary  resources  will  enable  him  to  attain  it. 
The  course  is  long  for  either  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions, and  the  expenses  of  "  lying  at  Upsala, "  as  the 
Swedes  put  it,  often  bring  the  poor  students  into  most 
painful  difficulties.  It  is  not  very  hard  to  get  a  loan 
to  relieve  present  embarrassments ;  and  these  debts 
contracted  at  the  university  often  long  encumber  a 
graduate,  and  sometimes  even  are  unpaid  all  his  life. 
Self-support  is  not  so  common  for  indigent  students 
as  in  America.  The  expenses  of  living  are  small  at 
Upsala,  in  comparison  with  those  in  university  towns 
in  the  United  States.  There  have,  of  later  years, 
been  established  several  good  boarding-houses,  or  club- 
houses, and  one  on  strict  temperance  principles. 
There  are  no  large  dormitories  for  students;  each 
young  man  lives  in  his  own  quarters,  to  suit  his  taste 
and  purse.  Students  sometimes  do  some  private  teach- 
ing during  the  term,  or  even  may  have  what  are 
called  "  food  days  "  in  different  houses,  taking  their 
dinner  perhaps  at  one  family  table,  and  breakfast  and 
supper  at  another;  or  the  dinners  are  distributed 
between  several  homes,  and  for  the  other  meals,  the 


UPSALA.  253 

young  man  "  shirks  for  himself.  "  Sometimes  a  scholar- 
ship or  other  helps  enable  a  struggling  student  to  get 
on,  with  his  own  exertions  as  a  private  teacher  dur- 
ing the  long  summer  vacations,  when  nearly  all  the 
schools  are  closed. 

If  an  Upsala  student  is  denied  his  degree  after  the 
final  examination,    he    may  demand   to   be    publicly 


MOUNDS    OF    THE    KINGS. 


tested.  Many  years  ago  such  a  case  occurred  to  a 
young  man  who  had  gone  through  his  examination  as 
a  jurist;  he  believed  himself  to  have  been  unjustly 
treated,  and  claimed  the  lawful  privilege  in  such 
cases.  Of  course  the  hall  was  crowded  by  eager 
listeners,  and  messengers  rushed  to  the  homes  of 
friends  interested,  to  tell,  from  time  to  time,  how  all 
was  going  on.  The  young  man  was  brilliantly  trium- 
phant before  the  whole  assembly,  and  at  the  close  of 
his  protracted  examination  his  jubilant  companions 
bore  him  round  the  town,  with  glad  shouts  and  songs 


254  PICTURES   OF    SWEDISH   LIFE. 

of  victory.  That  rejected  jurist  has  since  filled  the 
highest  positions  in  the  State  awarded  to  any  Swede 
not  born  for  the  throne. 

The  students  are  divided  into  "  nations, "  according 
to  the  province  from  which  they  come.  These  nations 
have  objects  somewhat  like  those  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations.  The  members  give  one  an- 
other brotherly  friendly  aid  in  all  difficulties,  care  for 
strangers,  and  promote  general  social  kindliness. 

The  nations  have  their  individual  internal  gov- 
ernment and  laws,  their  savings-bank  in  a  private 
way,  and  their  fund  for  indigent  students,  and  even 
their  fixed  scholarships.  There  are  only  thirteen 
nations,  as  in  some  cases  students  from  two  or  more 
provinces  form  one  nation.  Each  nation  has  its 
"  house  "  for  its  own  purposes,  with  a  small  yard  or 
court  attached.  There  is  no  animosity  between  the 
nations,  and  consequently  no  hereditary  feuds  are 
kept  up  between  them.  Each  nation  has  its  own 
banner,  usually  of  silk,  often  richly  embroidered,  and 
the  gift  of  the  fair. 

There  is  no  charge  for  instruction  at  Upsala,  unless 
for  private  lessons  or  the  use  of  the  library.  There 
is  no  supervision  of  the  deportment  of  the  students 
by  the  professors,  unless  there  is  some  open  outrage. 

The  faculty  form  themselves  a  court,  before  which 
a  student  may  be  summoned  for  a  breach  of  public 
law  and  order,  examined,  doomed,  "  suspended  "  or 
dismissed,  and  his  scholarship  taken  from  him.  Total 
abstinence  is  not  popular,  but  the  number  who  dare 
to  show  the  blue  ribbon  instead  of  the  white  feather 
is  on  the  increase. 

On  the  1st  of  May  there  is  a  procession  of  masque- 
raders,  when  cleverness  and  ingenuity  are  often  dis- 


UPSALA.  255 

played,  as  well  as  a  desire  for  the  grotesque  and  the 
ridiculous,  at  the  expense  of  good  taste.  On  that 
day  one  nation  makes  a  call,  in  a  body,  at  the 
house  of  another  nation,  is  received,  and  perhaps  re- 
galed in  the  little  garden.  Soon  the  nation  visited 
joins  the  troop  of  visitors,  until  the  round  is  made, 
each  nation  managing  to  be  at  home  some  time  in  the 
day,  to  act  the  host.  On  these  occasions  all  the 
nations  are  sure  to  keep  "  open  house  "  until  the  small 
hours  of  the  night. 

There  is  little  social  intercourse  between  the  pro- 
fessors and  students,  but  there  are  marked  exceptions 
in  this  particular.  Such  hospitality  is  much  enjoyed 
at  the  time,  and  is  long  remembered.  Some  of  the 
professors,  being  single  men  and  deep  students,  are 
not  socially  inclined.  The  professors  of  theology  are 
said  to  entertain  the  young  men  more  than  others,  — 
a  very  Christian  peculiarity. 

The  presiding  officer  of  the  University,  Eector 
Magnificus,  is  chosen  every  year  from  the  professors, 
but  may  accept  the  office  for  many  years  in  succes- 
sion. On  important  occasions  he  wears  about  his  neck 
a  long,  heavy  gold  chain,  with  appropriate  insignia 
attached  to  it,  and  all  the  stars  and  orders  he  is 
entitled  to  bear.  The  professors  are  most  able  men, 
and  the  instruction  at  Upsala  is  considered  admirable. 

There  are  usually  about  eighteen  hundred  students 
at  Upsala ;  and  with  the  sixty  professors  and  their 
assistants,  there  is  about  one  instructor  for  every 
fourteen  pupils. 

The  student  arrives  at  Upsala  with  his  white  cap 
on,  as  the  token  of  his  right  to  be  there,  not  to  speak 
of  his  examination  certificate  in  his  pocket.  He  is 
probably  somewhere  between  sixteen  and  nineteen 


256  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

years  of  age,  but  may  be  even  older,  if  his  early  edu- 
cation has  been  neglected  or  interrupted.  He  looks 
about  him,  secures  his  quarters,  pays  his  trifling 
entrance-fee  (perhaps  about  three  dollars),  puts  down 
his  name,  and  becomes  a  member  of  his  proper  nation, 
—  for  he  must  belong  to  a  nation,  to  be  a  student  at 
Upsala.  He  does  not  need  to  inform  any  of  the 
professors  of  his  presence,  his  intentions  as  to  his 
course  of  study,  or  his  purposes  as  to  law,  order,  or 
propriety.  The  fees  paid  to  the  nations  at  the  begin- 
ning of  each  of  the  terms  of  the  year  form  the  fund 
for  running  expenses ;  but  the  scholarships  in  their 
gift  are  provided  for  by  the  interest  on  donations 
that  have  been  given  for  that  purpose.  There  are 
scholarships  not  limited  to  the  nations,  but  belonging 
to  the  whole  University,  according  to  the  provisions 
of  the  testators.  The  incomes  from  these  scholar- 
ships range  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars 
a  year.  Some  of  these  scholarships  can  be  given  only 
to  an  individual  of  a  certain  family.  There  are  some 
that  are  dispensed  by  the  "  House  of  Knights, "  a  con- 
dition being  that  the  recipient  be  the  son  of  a  noble- 
man. The  present  King  of  Sweden  has  founded  a 
scholarship. 

It  is  important  to  the  student  taking  up  his  abode 
at  Upsala  to  be  pleased  with  the  academic  shades, 
for  he  will  probably  pass  there  more  than  a  tenth  of 
the  life  that  lies  before  him,  if  he  is  to  enter  any  of 
the  learned  professions.  The  time  of  his  stay  will 
depend,  of  course,  somewhat  on  his  industry  and 
his  ability.  If  he  is  to  be  a  theologian  or  a  jurist, 
he  must  allow  himself  at  least  six  years ;  and  if 
medicine  is  his  choice,  it  will  be  eight  or  ten  before 
he  will  be  authorized  to  "  kill  or  cure. "  He  may 


UPSALA.  257 

take  a  course  in  pedagogics  and  prepare  for  a  teacher's 
calling  in  less  time,  and  with  more  special  outline 
of  studies.  The  new  student  attends  lectures  as  he 
finds  them  profitable;  he  studies  alone,  on  his  own 
premises,  or  has  private  instruction,  according  to  his 
own  arrangement,  or  hears  lectures  by  tutors,  by  pay- 
ing from  five  to  eight  dollars  a  term;  these  latter 
courses  may  be  for  only  six  weeks  or  for  the  whole 
session. 

He  is  at  last,  he  thinks,  fit  to  be  examined  to  become 
a  so-called  (we  shall  suppose)  philosophical  candidate.. 
He  may  be  examined  alone,  or  with  several  compan- 
ions, or  a  still  larger  number  of  students,  each  professor 
examining  in  his  own  department.  There  are  certain 
branches  that  are  compulsory  for  all  in  this  exami- 
nation, and  others  that  are  elective.  He  passes  credit- 
ably this  examination,  and  receives  a  certificate  which 
pronounces  him  a  philosophical  candidate  of  such  or 
such  a  grade  of  scholarship;  he  is  thereafter  entitled 
to  be  addressed  personally  or  by  letter  as  Candidate 

B ,  etc.  He  now  begins  the  course  of  study  that 

will  enable  him  to  be  a  Philosophical  Licentiate ;  he 
is  perhaps  more  devoted  to  his  books  than  before, 
more  scrupulous  in  his  attendance  upon  lectures,  and 
probably  writes  a  theme  on  some  subject  connected 
with  his  studies,  which  is  subjected  to  criticism,  and 
perhaps  discussion,  in  the  presence  of  his  fellows  and 
his  professor.  When  he  considers  himself  prepared 
for  another  examination,  he  takes  it,  and  if  he  suc- 
ceeds, becomes  a  Philosophical  Licentiate.  He  now 
aims  at  being  a  Doctor  of  Philosophy. 

The  goal  is  at  last  in  sight.  Our  Upsala  man 
prepares  a  little  printed  book, —  the  size  is  not  pre- 
scribed, it  may  even  be  three  hundred  pages  long, — 

17 


258  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

on  some  subject  appropriate  to  his  line  of  study.  The 
writer  is  called  the  "  respondent. "  Three  "  opponents  " 
are  chosen  to  attack  his  opinions,  and  his  defence  of 
them  in  his  little  book.  The  professors  choose  one ; 
the  respondent  may  choose  two.  One  of  the  oppo- 
nents chosen  by  the  respondent  is  supposed  to  be,  not 
a  kind  of  court  fool,  but  an  academic  maker  of  clever 
nonsense,  who  is  to  make  witticisms,  pertinent  and 
impertinent,  trivial  or  grandiloquent,  as  suits  his 
fancy,  to  the  general  diversion  of  the  assembly.  The 
attack  has  rather  the  form  of  a  conversation  than  a 
solemn  speech ;  but  each  opponent  generally  closes  his 
criticism  by  a  harangue,  in  which  he  praises,  on  the 
whole,  the  work  of  the  respondent,  in  a  bombastic  or 
most  flowery  style. 

The  respondent  receives  a  special  certificate  for  his 
defence  of  his  little  book,  which  may  have  been  on 
"  Kant's  Philosophy,"  on  "  The  Old  Laws  of  Sweden," 
or  Mazzaim,  or  Themistocles,  or  a  translation  from 
Horace,  with  notes  and  criticisms. 

The  great  day  —  Promotion  Day  —  when  the  doctors 
are  to  receive  their  degrees,  arrives  at  last,  generally 
at  the  close  of  May.  Then  all  are  "  promoted  "  who 
have  "  disputed  "  during  the  year,  and  have  given  in 
their  names  for  promotion. 

The  promotion  ceremony  formerly  took  place  in  the 
cathedral,  but  it  is  now  in  the  grand  hall  of  the  New 
University  Building.  At  8  A.M.  the  cathedral  bells 
solemnly  ring,  to  indicate  the  importance  of  the  com- 
ing hours.  At  mid-day  the  whole  corps  of  instructors 
enter  the  hall,  the  Doctors  of  Law,  Divinity,  and 
Philosophy,  with  little  laurel  wreaths  pinned  fast  to 
the  breast  of  their  coats.  At  the  head  of  the  proces- 
sion go  two  beadles,  with  great  staffs,  and  wearing 


UPSALA.  259 

old-fashioned  costumes.  When  these  elders  have 
entered,  the  students  follow,  the  candidates  in  ad- 
vance, with  great  laurel  crowns  on  their  breasts. 
The  students  wear  their  white  caps. 

One  professor  does  duty  as  "  promoter. "  He  gives 
first  a  substantial  lecture  on  some  subject  from  his 
own  department  of  instruction,  treated  in  a  popular 
and  intelligible  manner.  Of  course  there  is  a  crowded 
house ;  the  ladies  all  looking  their  prettiest,  and  the 
marshals,  with  their  long  blue  and  yellow  sashes, 
keeping  order. 

When  the  speech  of  the  day  is  over,  the  promoter 
makes  an  address  to  the  candidates, — it  maybe  in 
Latin.  The  promoter  puts  a  laurel  crown  on  his  own 
perhaps  silvery  head ;  the  candidates  are  called  for- 
ward singly,  by  name,  with  a  high-sounding  Latin  ter- 
mination. A  marshal  takes  the  crown  from  the  breast 
of  the  aspirant,  gives  it  to  the  promoter,  who  waves  it 
on  high,  then  places  it  on  the  head  of  the  candidate, 
and  puts  on  his  wedding-finger  a  ring,  on  which  a 
laurel  wreath  is  to  be  seen  engraved.  There  is  a 
burst  of  music,  and  the  roar  of  cannon,  as  the  wreath 
goes  on ;  and  hearts  beat,  and  eyes  flash,  and  mothers 
shed  loving  tears. 

The  candidate  is  promoted,  and  is  ever  afterwards 
a  doctor.  He  may  be  so  addressed  in  conversation 
and  in  writing,  and  his  betrothed  knows  that  she  may 
be  called  doctorinnan  some  day,  if  it  should  suit  her 
fancy.  The  doctor  is  no  longer  a  student,  but  one  of 
the  Alumni  of  Upsala  University.  The  candidates 
are  so  promoted  in  order.  There  was  formerly  a  grand 
ball  on  the  evening  of  Promotion  Day,  but  that  is  a 
thing  of  the  past. 

Declamation  is  not  much  practised  in  Sweden ;  and 


260  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

in  this  art  boys  and  young  men  receive  little  instruc- 
tion, though  in  social  life  short  complimentary 
speeches  are  to  be  made  on  innumerable  occasions. 

On  Promotion  Day  there  are  no  speeches  from  the 
young  men ;  there  is  no  valedictory  delivered  on  leav- 
ing Upsala.  The  professors  are  not  thanked,  in  long 
involved  Latin  sentences,  for  their  care  and  instruc- 
tion. No  bouquets  are  thrown  to  youthful  speakers, 
as  in  young,  enthusiastic  America. 

The  exercises  of  Promotion  Day  are  solemn,  and  to 
the  mind  of  the  Swede  just  what  they  ought  to  be,  at 
the  great  University  of  Upsala,  in  the  shadow  of  her 
old  cathedral,  and  with  the  responsibility  of  making 
the  future  worthy  to  succeed  the  honored  past. 

Every  third  year  there  is  a  promotion  of  jubilee 
doctors,  fifty  years  after  their  first  promotion,  whether 
they  are  able  or  not  to  be  present  on  the  occasion. 
When  appearing  in  person,  they  receive  their  crowns 
before  the  young  aspirants  come  forward. 

It  is  not  easy  to  obtain  a  doctor's  degree  without 
going  regularly  through  a  university ;  but  the  King 
can  give  the  titles  of  professor  and  doctor ;  so  there  is 
in  Sweden  a  royal  road  to  a  learned  title,  if  not  a 
royal  road  to  learning. 


EMIGRATION.  261 


EMIGRATION. 

MOTHER  SVEA  and  Columbia  are  just  now  pulling 
caps  about  many  hardy  sons,  whom  they  both  claim 
as  their  own.  There  is  no  danger  of  an  appeal  to 
bloodshed  in  this  case,  as  was  proposed  to  decide  the 
maternal  dispute  in  the  days  of  Solomon.  It  settles 
itself,  not  quite  to  the  satisfaction  of  either  claimant. 

It  is  a  difficult  and  doubtful  undertaking  to  adopt 
children  while  their  real  parents  are  living.  This 
Columbia  is  finding  to  her  cost;  she  is  in  danger  of 
becoming  the  matron  of  a  great  orphan  asylum,  instead 
of  the  mother  of  a  devoted  family  of  her  own.  Her 
foster  children  perhaps  give  her  gratitude,  and  a 
certain  amount  of  consideration,  but  not  the  strong, 
filial  love  of  true  sons.  She  is  doing  bravely  her 
noble  mission  for  the  world  at  large,  and  must  accept 
its  present  painful  accompaniments.  These  foster 
children  of  hers,  with  their  hearts  over  the  water, 
will  be  parents  to  native-born  Americans,  to  grow  up, 
we  trust,  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  do  honor  to 
the  country  that  is  really  their  own. 

Svea's  word  about  emigration  is  more  negative 
than  positive.  Svea  says  to  her  boy,  "  Stay  at  home, 
my  dear ; *  you  are  better  off  in  Sweden  than  anywhere 
in  the  world.  Above  all  things,  don't  think  of  emi- 
grating to  America;  it  is  a  wild  country,  and  any- 

1  The  emigration  from  Sweden  to  America  was  one  third  less  in 
1892  than  in  1882. 


262  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

thing  bad  may  happen  to  you  there,  body  and  soul. 
They  have  no  State  Church,  and  not  much  religion  at 
all,  I  am  afraid.  As  to  their  climate,  they  must  creep 
to  bed  in  the  dark,  or  with  a  candle,  at  nine  o'clock 
on  Midsummer  Eve,  and  hardly  know  what  day  the 
morrow  will  be.  They  must  have  thick  clothes 
for  winter  and  thin  clothes  for  summer,  and  that  costs 
not  a  little  but  much  money ;  and  they  don't  have 
any  ore, —  there  you  must  spend  what  would  be  almost 
four  ore  here,  if  you  are  to  buy  a  morsel  to  eat,  or 
even  a  tablespoonful  of  milk.  There  the  thunder  can 
roar  all  night,  and  you  can't  sleep  for  the  lightning 
flashing  in  your  eyes  every  moment.  You  are  likely 
any  day  to  be  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake,  or  swallowed  up 
by  an  earthquake,  or  frozen  to  death  in  a  blizzard,  or 
blown  as  good  as  to  the  moon  by  a  hurricane.  No,  my 
boy  !  Stay  where  you  were  born,  and  be  an  honor  to 
your  country.  Don't  turn  your  back  on  old  Sweden!" 
and  Mother  Svea  begins  to  feel  a  choking  in  her  throat, 
and  her  handkerchief  goes  to  her  eyes. 

"  What  you  say,  mother  dear,  is  quite  true,"  answers 
the  boy,  agitated  by  conflicting  feelings.  He  soothes 
poor  Svea  as  best  he  can,  but  makes  no  promises. 
He  is  in  treaty  with  an  agent,  and  knows  already 
how  much  it  will  cost  for  the  voyage,  and  where  he  is 
to  borrow  the  money  for  the  trip.  He  has  been  for 
weeks  laying  together  the  things  he  will  need  on  the 
journey,  without  fairly  saying  to  himself  that  he  is 
really  to  be  off  in  the  spring. 

When  Svea  sees  at  last  that  the  separation  is  inevi- 
table, she  takes  it  as  composedly  as  she  can,  and  gives 
her  parting  kiss  in  her  usual  affectionate  demonstra- 
tive way.  "  Be  always  a  Swede  wherever  you  are,  and 
do  not  dishonor  your  native  land,"  are  the  parting 


EMIGRATION.  263 

words.  So  they  separate,  with,  perhaps,  as  many  mis- 
givings on  the  part  of  the  stolid-looking  emigrant  as  in 
Mother  Svea's  own  maternal  bosom. 

The  emigrant  has  not  been  long  in  America  before 
the  struggle  begins  for  him  between  allegiance  to  his 
native  land,  which  he  is  sure  is  an  honorable  feeling, 
and  the  strange  "  at  homeness  "  and  self-respect  and 
dawning  prosperity  that  are  making  him  an  American 
before  he  knows  it.  He  is  ashamed  to  own  the  change 
that  is  coming  over  him,  and  sends  home  to  Sweden 
more  and  more  money  for  the  dear  ones  left  behind,  as 
he  finds  his  heart-roots  striking  deep  down  in  the  rich 
soil  of  the  land  to  which  he  has  come  as  a  stranger, 
and  where  he  has  cast  in  his  lot.  He  is  soon  ready 
to  send  for  his  "  little  Karin,"  who,  after  all,  has  been 
at  the  bottom  of  this  mischief ;  for  it  was  to  make  a 
home  for  her  that  he  started  on  this  far  pilgrimage. 
She  comes,  nothing  loath,  by  the  next  steamer ;  for  of 
course  he  sent  her  a  ticket,  like  a  man,  and  said  all 
sorts  of  sweet  things  in  his  letter,  which  she  knew 
were  the  true  utterances  of  his  faithful  Northern  heart. 
They  were  married,  in  all  simplicity,  at  the  Swedish 
Emigrant  Home,  where  she  was  at  once  kindly 
sheltered  and  cared  for,  and  prayer  and  praise  and 
good  wishes  on  the  occasion  were  not  lacking  for  the 
hopeful  pair.  They  soon  had  a  home  of  their  own, 
with  a  garden  bit  behind  it,  where  they  both  worked 
early  and  late,  before  and  after  the  real  labors  of  the 
day.  By  and  by  a  little  American  was  born  in  that 
home,  and  then  the  young  couple  kissed  each  other  and 
said,  "  How  happy  we  are !  "  They  did  not  love  Svea 
the  less  in  their  joy.  They  thanked  God  for  their 
blessings,  and  perhaps  did  not  once  think  of  Columbia, 
and  whether  they  had  any  duty  to  her. 


264  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

If  it  be  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,  Columbia 
has  that  blessing  a  thousand  fold.  May  the  children 
of  her  adopted  sons  give  her  the  true,  grateful  affection 
she  so  richly  merits ! 

What  tells  the  swallow  when  it  is  time  to  wing  his 
way  southward  ?  What  teaches  the  wild  goose  to  form 
his  line  of  march  through  the  skies  ?  We  say  instinct, 
perhaps,  and  are  satisfied  with  the  answer.  The  whole- 
sale emigration  of  the  Swedes  seems  to  have  almost 
the  same  mysterious  qrigin.  Large  districts  are  sud- 
denly pervaded  with  the  desire  to  go  to  America ;  why, 
no  one  can  rationally  say.  Many  of  the  rustics  who 
are  to  start  on  this  strange  pilgrimage  have  never 
been  many  miles  away  from  their  cottage  home.  They 
have  little  idea  of  the  land  to  which  they  are  going, 
or  of  the  dangers  and  discomforts  of  the  way,  or  of  the 
loneliness  that  awaits  them  where  people  and  customs 
and  language  will  be  equally  strange  and  at  first 
incomprehensible.  The  old  viking  spirit  awakes  in 
the  young  men.  They  must  have  adventures  and 
see  far  countries,  or  learn  what  is  not  to  be  learned 
at  home.  Sometimes  the  hard-handed  laborers,  the 
housemaids,  and  the  inmates  of  whole  cottages  simply 
desert  their  native  land  to  be  like  their  neighbors. 
There  is  a  mass  movement  westward,  with  no  Moses 
to  guide  the  multitude,  and  no  divine  command  for  the 
pilgrimage ;  but  there  is  doubtless  a  providential  hand 
that  is  leading  the  sons  of  toil  to  the  country  where 
they  may  have  one  of  earth's  best  blessings,  a  home  of 
their  own  in  a  free  and  fruitful  land. 

Individuals  who  have  made  up  their  minds  to 
emigrate  have  often  strong  private  reasons  for  the 
change.  One  man,  a  skilful  mechanic,  who  took  "  only 
ale,"  he  said,  gained  flesh  and  color  very  fast,  and  lost 


EMIGRATION. 


265 


work  and  general  confidence  as  rapidly.  A  winter 
without  employment  sent  him  to  America  alone  in  the 
spring,  resolved  not  even  to  take  "  ale "  in  the  new 
country,  where  he  would  be  free  from  his  old  boon 
companions.  He  kept  his  resolution,  worked  as  a 
saddler  till  he  could  find  a  place  as  an  upholsterer 


A    SWEDISH    PILOT. 

(his  trade  in  Sweden),  sent  for  his  wife  and  little  ones, 
and  they  are  all  now  happy  in  an  American  home. 
One  model  coachman,  gray-haired,  stalwart,  and  skil- 
ful, maintained  that  he  heard  his  master  talking  about 
having  a  carriage  moved  by  machinery  and  kerosene. 
He  was  satisfied  with  his  situation,  but  would  not 
manage  such  a  thing  as  that,  and  no  horses  in  the 
stable.  It  could  not  be  thought  of ?  He  did  not  want 
to  "  change  his  place ; "  so  he  would  go  to  America. 


266  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

There  was  another  reason  for  going  there ;  for  had  he 
not  seven  children  to  care  for,  and  his  wife's  sisters, 
who  had  been  such  a  help,  had  emigrated  before  him. 
In  the  New  World  he  could  rely  on  them,  at  a  pinch ; 
and  so  there  were  nine  passages  taken,  and  nine  Swedes 
turned  their  backs  on  Mother  Svea. 

Love  takes  many  a  Swedish  lassie  over  the  water. 
Her  betrothed  has  gone  before  her.  What  if  he  should 
find  a  new  lover  in  the  New  World  ?  That  is  an  agitat- 
ing, tormenting  thought.  She  can  get,  she  has  heard, 
four  times  as  high  wages  in  America  as  in  Sweden.  She 
will  try  the  experiment,  and  so  watch  over  her  "  John 
Anderson,  my  Joe,"  and  be  laying  up  for  the  future 
at  the  same  time.  They  had  exchanged  plain  gold 
rings  when  they  were  betrothed,  of  course ;  and  in  due 
time  she  has,  like  any  Swedish  wife  at  home,  two  such 
rings  on  her  wedding-finger,  though  that  may  not  be 
the  custom  in  America. 

Not  unfrequently  the  "  ne'er  do  weel "  of  a  family, 
high  or  low,  is  gotten  off  to  America,  as  a  last  resort 
for  his  reformation  ;  and  strange  to  say,  this  experiment 
seems  to  succeed,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  The  new 
leaf  is  turned  over,  and  the  scapegrace  begins  to  send 
home  money  to  pay  for  his  passage  and  his  outfit,  and 
perhaps  imports  in  time  a  mother,  or  a  sister,  or  a 
"  nearer  and  a  dearer,"  to  keep  him  company  and 
share  his  better  fortune. 

The  Swedes  are  good  emigrants.  They  are  con- 
tented and  thrifty,  and  accustomed  to  a  simple  way  of 
life.  With  their  small  requisites,  in  the  way  of  neces- 
sities, with  American  wages  they  soon  lay  up  money. 
The  substantial  proofs  they  send  home  of  the  pros- 
perity of  the  humbler  classes  in  the  New  World  are, 
perhaps,  the  underlying  cause  for  the  mania  for  emigra- 


EMIGRATION.  267 

tion  that  so  reduces  the  population  of  Sweden.  Mother 
Svea  may  by  and  by  be  puzzled  herself  to  decide  on 
which  side  o  the  water  the  true  Sweden  lies,  — 
whether  where  the  old  homestead  is,  or  where  she  has 
most  of  her  children  and  children's  children ;  a  hard 
question  for  an  old  mother,  truly  ! 

It  was  interesting  to  read,  not  long  since,  in  a  New 
York  newspaper,  that  among  the  emigrants  landing 
at  a  certain  time  in  New  York,  the  proportion  who 
could  not  read  or  write  was,  among  the  Italians,  eighty 
to  a  hundred,  and  but  one  per  cent  among  the  Swedes. 
So  much  for  compulsory  education.  These  same 
Swedish  emigrants  may  long  continue  to  read  their 
own  language  without  difficulty,  but  they  decline  very 
rapidly  in  writing  it.  Their  letters  to  friends  at  home 
are  most  amusing  in  that  respect.  English  words 
are  introduced  bodily,  apparently  quite  unconsciously ; 
and  finally  the  letters  become  almost  unintelligible 
to  the  "  simple  folk "  in  the  cottage  to  which  they 
come. 

The  change  in  tone  of  feeling  and  sense  of  impor- 
tance in  the  social  world  is  quite  as  marked  and  fully 
as  rapid.  There  is  an  amusing  imaginary  letter  in 
rhyme,  that  has  gone  the  round  of  the  Swedo-Ameri- 
can  papers.  In  it  a  certain  emigrant  tells  his  adored 
fair  who  would  not  respond  to  his  sighs,  that  whereas 
he  was  only  at  home  a  "  tailor's  apprentice,"  he  is  now 
"Mr.  Johansson,"  and  that  if  she  had  accompanied 
him,  she  would  now  be  wearing  "  hat "  and  handskar 
(gloves),  like  a  fine  AmerikansJca  (American  lady). 
He  however,  notwithstanding  his  outward  prosperity, 
is  drinking  "  sorrow's  bitterest  bottle,"  while  he  "  wishes 
her  well,  and  hopes  that  the  Erik  she  took  will  be  able 
to  support  her." 


268  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

One  can  hardly  talk  with  any  family  in  humble 
life,  in  Sweden,  who  has  not  some  relative  in  America, 
Too  often  there  is  the  sad  story  that  they  have  lost 
sight  of  the  absent  son  or  sister  or  brother.  This  is 
not  wonderful,  knowing  the  facility  with  which  the 
Swedes  change  their  names,  as  an  innocent  and  quite 
allowable  proceeding.  This  they  do,  perhaps,  when 
they  land  at  Castle  Garden,  —  a  circumstance  they 
may  forget  to  mention  upon  writing  home,  at  first,  when 
there  is  so  much  to  tell.  It  may  be  that  the  new 
address  is  not  properly  given,  or  sufficiently  correctly 
spelt  to  be  recognized  on  the  envelope  of  the  an- 
swer to  the  letter.  So,  in  the  various  chances  and 
changes  of  the  emigrant's  life,  he  is  lost  sight  of.  He 
thinks  he  is  neglected  and  forgotten  at  home,  and  in 
that  home  he  is  named  with  a  shrug  or  a  hot  tear. 

These  lost  members  of  Swedish  families  often  die  in 
comfortable  circumstances,  without  heirs  in  America. 
Then  a  thorough  investigation  is  made  into  all  their 
changes  and  antecedents  generally,  and  their  original 
names  are,  if  possible,  ascertained.  The  truth  fairly 
established,  an  advertisement  appears  in  the  Swedish 
papers,  desiring  the  names  of  the  relatives  of  a  certain 
—  who  emigrated  to  America  at  such  a  time  from 
such  a  place.  So  families  in  Sweden,  who  have 
struggled  on  in  poverty  often  come  into  what  is  riches 
for  them,  through  the  relative  long  accounted  forgetful 
of  home  or  among  the  early  dead.  This  has  been  so 
often  the  case  that  to  have  "an  uncle  in  America"  is, 
in  Sweden,  a  proverbial  expression  for  a  possibility  of 
some  unknown  source  of  wealth  for  the  future. 

Engineers  and  inventors  have  been  particularly  suc- 
cessful in  the  New  World.  Many  a  young  engineer, 
accustomed  to  comfort  and  consideration  in  Sweden, 


EMIGRATION.  269 

finding  that  there  were  too  many  brothers  and  sisters 
for  the  divided  inheritance,  has  emigrated  to  seek 
his  fortune.  Once  in  America  he  has  been  contented 
to  put  on  at  first  the  paper  cap,  and  work  in  a  machine- 
shop,  until,  his  skill  and  mathematical  training  being 
discovered,  he  has  been  placed  in  a  position  on  one 
of  the  great  railroads  (where  promotion  is  sure  for 
the  able  and  industrious),  advanced  rapidly,  and  has 
found  in  the  end  a  prosperity  in  the  New  World  of 
which  he  never  dreamed  in  the  Old. 

Among  the  successful  engineers  and  inventors  who 
landed  as  strangers  in  America,  John  Ericsson  has 
the  most  honored  name.  It  is  pleasant  to  know  that 
this  gifted  Swede  never  forgot  his  family  friends  in 
Sweden,  or  lost  his  love  for  his  native  country.  He 
was  always  ready  to  help  any  of  his  relatives  who 
needed  aid,  but  was  careful  not  to  place  them  beyond 
the  necessity  for  personal  exertion.  Work  was,  for  him, 
a  never  forgotten  or  neglected  item  in  life.  When 
invited  out,  he  would  often  ask,  "  Can  I  be  of  any  use 
there  ? "  If  the  answer  was  in  the  affirmative,  the 
invitation  was  sure  to  be  accepted. 

Many  Swedes  do  not  come  home,  like  John  Ericsson, 
borne  lifeless  across  the  seas,  to  be  buried  in  their 
own  land.  Many  return  in  full  vigor,  to  enjoy  in 
their  native  country  the  ample  means  they  have  ac- 
quired in  the  New  World.  Some  conservative,  old- 
fashioned  Swedes  cannot  be  contented  in  America. 
It  is  all  too  strange  and  queer  for  them, —  no  king, 
no  archbishop,  no  nobility,  no  hard  brown-bread,  and 
almost,  they  think,  no  politeness.  They  quietly  come 
back  to  Stockholm,  work  their  way  along  slowly,  and 
perhaps,  at  fifty  years  of  age,  see  their  way  clear  to 
marry  and  have  a  home  of  their  own.  In  that  home 


270  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

they  settle,  with  the  strong  conviction  that  a  late 
marriage  in  Sweden  is  better  than  an  early  one  in  too 
republican  America.  These  are  the  rare  cases;  but 
they  exist,  and  to  them  Svea  gladly  appeals  when 
she  gets  into  a  hot  contest  with  her  boys  whom  she 
finds  cherishing  a  wish  to  abscond  and  take  what 
she  considers  a  rash  cold  plunge,  involving  almost  the 
moral  guilt  of  the  deserter  or  the  suicide. 

Many  of  the  causes  of  emigration  may  be  shortly 
explained  as  the  things  which  Svea  does  not  do  for  her 
children,  and  which  Columbia,  with  her  wide  domains 
and  her  great  prosperity,  can  fairly  promise  them.  If 
there  were  land  for  the  laboring-people  to  buy  for 
homes  of  their  own,  higher  wages,  less  marked  social 
distinctions,  and  a  more  friendly  hand  stretched  out  to 
dissenters,  and  less  taxation  for  the  support  of  the 
State  Church,  the  home-loving  Swedes  would  never 
desert  Mother  Svea. 


IV. 
ROUNDABOUT  AND  NORTHWARD. 


SHAKING  HANDS   WITH   SVEA. 

THE  SWEDISH  ISLANDS.         THE  FINNS. 
DALECARLIA.  THE  LAPPS. 


THE  Swedish  islands  are  Svea's  boast.  They  are 
sown  broadcast  in  her  bays  and  lakes,  scat- 
tered along  her  coast,  and  anchored  fast  in  the  seas 
that  wash  her  shores.  Indeed  scientists  maintain 
that  all  Southern  Sweden  was  once  an  island ;  and  it 
is  now  if  one  chooses  to  call  it  so,  with  lakes  and 
streams  and  Gbta  Canal  to  cut  it  off  from  the  main- 
land of  the  peninsula.  The  very  capital  is  a  cluster 
of  islands,  and  what  is  the  whole  Scandinavian  penin- 
sula but  an  almost  island  in  very  name  ? 

Gotland  stands  foremost  among  these  Northern  isles 
for  size  and  beauty  and  charm  and  historic  associations. 
Gotland  has  no  shrivelled,  neglected  old  age.  The 
fair  island  sits  like  a  silver-haired  dowager-queen, 
beautiful  in  her  decline,  and  revered  and  honored  and 
sought  as  a  link  between  the  "  living  present "  and  the 
"  dead  past." 

Where  quiet  now  reigns  in  quaint  old  Visby,  throngs 
of  merchants  from  the  far  East  came  of  yore  with 
their  costly  wares  to  trade  with  the  sons  of  the  North, 
and  the  busy  peoples  all  round  the  Baltic.  There, 
where  in  the  Middle  Ages  Arabian,  Byzantine,  and 
Eoman  coins  were  ringing  in  the  pouches  of  buyer 
and  seller,  the  ground  is  still  stored  witn  hidden  treas- 
ures, that  become  the  wonder  of  the  traveller  and  the 
delight  of  the  antiquarian. 

The  ruins  of  Visby  are  beautiful  even  to  eyes  famil- 

18 


274  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

iar  with  the  old  English  castles  and  abbeys,  or  even 
with  the  grand  historic  monuments  of  majestic  Rome. 
Once  hi  Stockholm,  a  sail  on  the  Baltic,  perhaps  a 
restless  night  and  a  glad  morning,  and  you  are  in 
Visby. 

The  mild  climate  of  Gotland  gives  the  fair  island  a 
beautiful  and  varied  flora,  quite  different  from  that  of 
the  Scandinavian  peninsula.  Trees  grow  there  that 
would  rather  seem  at  home  in  the  far  South,  and  grapes 
ripen  in  the  open  air. 

Gotland  changed  hands  of  old,  much  like  a  piece  of 
money,  now  belonging  to  one  power  and  now  to  another, 
then  coming  back  to  Sweden  for  a  while,  to  fall  again 
in  troublous  days  into  the  possession  of  a  new  royal 
owner.  She  was  often  a  kind  of  makeweight,  thrown 
into  the  bargain,  when  a  puzzling  treaty  was  to  be  agreed 
upon,  or  Sweden  must  make  peace  on  any  terms.  Now 
Svea  thinks  she  has  this  fair  garden  of  the  North  as 
safely  among  her  treasures  as  if  it  were  a  choice  trinket 
fast  to  her  girdle  by  a  golden  chain. 

If  antiquity  were  the  chief  claim  to  precedence, 
Oland  should,  perhaps,  be  mentioned  before  her  sister 
island,  for  Oland  has  prehistoric  pretensions.  Oland 
is  a  long  narrow  limestone  mountain  which  rises  in  two 
terraces  from  the  sea.  At  the  base  of  these  terraces 
a  road  girdles  the  island  along  the  sandy  beach.  At 
one  point  in  Oland  Nature  is  full  of  smiles,  tropical 
verdure,  and  the  sweet  song  of  the  nightingale  ;  a  short 
ride  and  you  are  in  a  region  dreary  and  desert-like.  In 
Oland  the  archaeologist  finds  most  interesting  traces  of 
the  unchronicled  past.  There  are  many  old  fortifica- 
tions from  heathen  days,  and  boat-shaped  arrangements 
of  stones  with  cross  lines  to  indicate  the  benches  of 
the  rowers. 


THE   SWEDISH  ISLANDS. 


275 


To  the  student  of  Swedish  history,  the  old  castle  of 
Borgholiu,  now  a  ruin,  has  its  strong  interest,  while 
the  lover  of  the  beautiful  finds  there  as  charming  a 
view  as  he  can  see  in  the  North,  with  the  woods  of 
Smaland  across  the  Sound,  and  the  city  of  Kalmar 
white  in  the  distance. 


UNDKR     THE    BIRCHES. 

The  "  west  coast "  of  Sweden,  with  its  many  sunny 
islands,  is  a  favorite  summer  resort.  There  was  a  time 
when  Marstrand,  now  only  such  a  haven  of  rest  for  tired 
dwellers  in  cities,  had  two  burgomasters,  a  syndic,  and 
ten  members  of  its  city  council.  They  do  not,  any  or 
all  of  them,  seem  to  have  been  able  to  maintain  law 
and  order;  for  the  place  fell  into  disrepute  for  evil 
doing,  and  had  its  own  subsequent  decline.  Now  it  is 


276  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  vLIFE. 

hot  the  buzz  of  traffic  that  is  heard  in  Marstraud,  but 
the  laughter  of  merry  bathers  or  the  sea-talk  of  old 
salts,  and  its  imitation  by  young  would-be  experts  in 
all  that  concerns  the  briny  sea. 

1  ;The  islands  that  stud  the  water  and  circle  the  prom- 
ontories of  the  eastern  coast  are  of  a  sterner  nature, 
yet  they  too  are  suddenly  peopled  when  the  warm 
weather  begins.  A  cottage  on  an  almost  bare  rock 
among  the  reefy  islands  (skargarden)  is  a  treasure  to 
the  city  lover  of  fishing,  or  to  the  student  who  wants 
to  have  Nature  and  quiet  and  pure  air,  without  being 
"  bothered  "  by  his  fellows. 

Dalarci  is  perhaps  the  most  frequented  of  this  whole 
archipelago,  where  salt  air,  salt  food,  and  "  old  salts  " 
join  their  attractions  to  charm  the  Stockholmers  weary 
of  the  constraints  of  city  life. 

Svea's  home  can  hardly  be  fully  appreciated  without 
some  knowledge  of  its  beautiful  islands,  —  "  Sweden's 
babies,"  as  a  little  child  once  poetically  called  them,  as 
he  discovered  them  for  the  first  time  on  the  map  of 
his  dear  native  land. 


DALECARLIA.  277 


DALECARLIA. 

SVEA  has  a  favorite  though  not  a  spoiled  child. 
English-speaking  people  call  her  Dalecarlia.  The 
brothers  and  sisters  do  their  share  in  the  petting,  so 
they  cannot  complain  of  the  result.  Dalecarlia  has  a 
sort  of  pre-eminence  among  the  provinces,  as  the 
darling  of  all.  However  the  brothers  and  sisters  may 
dispute  among  themselves  about  their  claims  for  supe- 
riority in  this  or  that  direction,  the  very  mention  of 
Dalecarlia  seems  to  put  them  all  in  a  good  humor. 
They  love  Dalecarlia  not  alone  for  the  part  she  has 
played  in  their  history.  The  Dalecarlian  of  the  present 
is  loved  almost  as  well  as  the  Dalecarlian  of  the  past. 
He  represents  to  his  countrymen  the  patriot,  the  cheer- 
ful agriculturist,  the  free  man,  free  in  thought  and 
action ;  the  practical,  sensible  citizen,  with  something 
of  the  Alpine  mountaineer  in  his  independence  and 
manly  simplicity.  He  has  the  good  old  idea  of  the 
king,  as  a  loving,  wise  father  for  his  people.  To  see  the 
King  on  a  special  errand,  two  sturdy  Dalecarlians  came 
some  years  since  to  Stockholm.  They  betook  them- 
selves at  once  to  their  member  of  the  Second  Chamber, 
a  resident  of  the  capital,  and  were  as  much  at  ease  in 
his  city  home  as  if  they  were  "  to  the  manner  born." 
He  promptly  arranged  for  them  an  audience  at  the 
palace,  and  in  their  "  shorts  "  and  white  leather  jackets, 
bordered  with  sheep's  wool,  for  their  court  dress,  they 
were  shown  into  the  presence  of  majesty.  They  were 


278  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

stalwart,  middle-aged  men,  brown  and  weather-worn, 
looking  much  like  a  pair  of  New  England  farmers, 
but  with  a  free  swing  in  their  movements,  and  a  quiet 
twinkle  in  the  corners  of  the  eyes,  that  perhaps  might 
not  have  been  found  in  the  sons  of  the  Puritans. 

The  strangers  had  a  cordial  reception,  and  promptly 
stated  their  business.  They  had  come,  they  said,  to 
beg  that  they  might  have  a  temperate  man  and  a  true 
Christian  for  their  parish  priest. 

"  That  is  the  least  you  can  ask,"  was  the  royal 
answer.  "  It  is  the  greatest,  too,  your  Majesty,"  was 
the  prompt  reply.  The  pastorate  in  question  was  in 
the  gift  of  the  King ;  and  the  person  proposed  for  the 
place,  and  likely  to  get  it,  was  an  evil  liver,  while  a 
less-favored  candidate  had  the  true  and  proper  claims 
for  the  position.  This  the  Dalecarlians  had  not  been 
able  to  stand  ;  they  would  appeal  to  the  King,  and  they 
were  not  refused  their  lawful  petition.  The  royal 
promise  was  given  that  they  should  have  the  man  they 
desired  for  their  "  spiritual  pastor  and  master." 

The  hardy  Dalecarlians  expressed  their  gratitude, 
lingered  a  moment,  hesitated,  and  then  one  of  them 
said,  much  moved :  "  Up  our  way,  we  were  all  very 
sorry  when  the  Queen  was  so  ill,  and  many  prayers 
were  made  for  her  in  Dalecarlia.  We  are  glad  her 
Majesty  is  better." 

This  was  evidently  no  court  compliment,  but  the 
expression  of  real  feeling ;  and  the  tears  filled  the  eyes 
of  the  King.  "  Perhaps,"  he  said,  "  you  would  like  to 
see  your  Queen;  she  is  just  at  hand."  The  faces  of 
the  Dalecarlians  flushed  with  pleasure,  and  they  were 
soon  in  the  presence  of  the  Queen,  paying  their  respects, 
and  expressing  their  congratulations  in  person.  They 
were  all  aglow  with  satisfaction,  when  they  came  back 


DALECARLIA. 


279 


from  the  palace,  and  full  of  talk  at  the  dinner-table, 
where,  in  their  free  mountaineer  way,  they  were  as 
easy  as  if  they  were  in  their  own  simple  homes. 

There  is  a  sort  of  "  out  and  outness  "  and  frankness 
about  the  Dalecarlians  that  is  particularly  charming. 
The  young  women  are  often  very  shy  ;  but  when  they 


HOME    INDUSTRY. 

do  speak,  they  say  simply  what  they  really  mean  and 
think.  Many  of  them  are  very  pleasing,  with  their 
round  pleasant  faces  and  blond  hair.  They  are  often 
as  strong  and  efficient,  as  gardeners,  as  an  ordinary 
laborer.  A  girl  of  nineteen  will  work  all  day  with 
spade  or  rake,  and  then  go  round  with  her  watering- 
pot  in  the  evening  as  cheerily  as  if  she  were  a  dilet- 
tante as  a  lover  of  flowers. 


280  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

It  is  one  of  the  pleasant  tokens  of  spring,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Stockholm,  to  see  these  Dalecarlian 
women  appearing  in  their  red  caps  and  gay  dresses,  to 
take  the  charge  of  the  gardens,  where  they  seem  so 
exactly  in  place.  All  through  the  season  others  may 
be  seen  going  about  selling  their  home-woven  gay 
bands  for  belts  and  apron-strings,  or  their  hair- work, 
in  which  they  are  particularly  skilful ;  but  gardening  is 
their  favorite  occupation.  Such  a  Dalecarlian  gardener 
can  be  obtained  for  about  thirty  cents  a  day.  She  is  pro- 
vided with  a  bed,  but  as  to  board  she  prepares  her  own 
food,  excepting  on  Sundays  or  holidays,  when  she  takes 
her  meals  with  the  servants  of  the  family  by  whom  she 
is  employed.  They  are  generally  industrious,  respect- 
able girls,  favorites  for  their  good  behavior  and  attrac- 
tive appearance,  and  perhaps  too,  for  their  bright  red 
caps  and  gay  little  shawls,  brightening  the  scene  even 
before  the  garden  flowers  have  appeared.  It  is  useless 
to  say  that  the  "  outer  man  "  is  of  no  consequence,  and 
especially  the  "  outer  woman."  Let  a  Dalecarlian  girl 
have  some  toilet  difficulty,  and  appear  some  day  with- 
out her  usual  costume,  an  American  almost  starts 
with  a  disagreeable  feeling  at  the  sight  of  "  that  woman 
working  in  the  garden,"  when  it  is  simply  the  favorite 
Dalecarlian  in  the  dress  of  an  ordinary  servant. 

To  see  the  Dalecarlians  in  their  home  is  a  favorite 
summer  pleasure  with  the  Swedes  as  well  as  with 
strangers.  The  "  Sunday  boat "  l  —  a  row-boat,  filled 
with  glad  faces  and  bright  dresses,  crossing  Lake 
Siljan  to  the  parish  church,  with  its  peasant  worship- 

1  The  "  church-boats  "  are  very  large,  and  often  carry  thirty  people. 
These  boats  are  owned  by  the  villages,  and  are  used  as  public  convey- 
ances. They  are  sometimes  rowed  man}-  miles  to  take  the  eager 
worshippers  to  their  beloved  church. 


DALECARLIA. 


281 


pers  —  is  a  beautiful  scene  to  have  in  memory.  It  is  a 
fair  picture  in  a  fair  frame.  The  sweet  bells  sound  over 
the  water,  and  the  rowers  strike  their  sure  strokes  in 
the  midst  of  the  Sabbath  stillness.  Little  children 
are  often  among  the  church-goers.  They  have  their 
cap^s  too,  and  dresses  down  to  their  feet,  which  they 
lift  daintily  with  their  small  hands,  as  they  go  sturdily 
up  hill ;  or  baby  faces  peep  out  from  bundles  in  their 
mothers'  arms. 


GOING   TO   CHURCH. 

It  is  this  that  the  stranger  most  wishes  to  see  ;  but 
the  Swede  can  almost  bow  down  before  the  restored 
cottage  of  Ornas,  where  Gustaf  Vasa  was  let  down 
from  the  window  by  a  long  towel,  to  escape  his 
Danish  pursuers.  Every  token  of  the  presence  of  the 
valiant  G-ustaf  is  cherished,  and  every  place  which  has 
been  the  scene  of  his  romantic  adventures  is  rever- 
ently visited. 

The  copper-mines  at  Falun  are  to  some  travelling 
specialists  an  attraction  to  Dalecarlia.  An  old  writ- 


282  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

ing  that  was  to  be  seen  in  Falun  a  century  ago,  claimed 
to  be  taken  from  runic  inscriptions  and  "reliable 
history,"  and  stoutly  maintained  that  the  Swedes  had 
learned  mining  from  one  of  Noah's  sons,  seventeen 
hundred  and  forty-five  years  after  the  creation  of  the 
world !  It  is  also  claimed,  in  this  redoubtable  manu- 
script, that  the  copper  vessels  of  Solomon's  temple 
were  made  from  copper  brought  from  Falun,  in  return 
for  which  the  Swedes  received  enough  gold  to  cover 
the  heathen  temple  at  Upsala,  and  silver,  too,  that 
sufficed  to  make  new  city  gates  for  old  Sigtuna.  In 
fact,  the  real  working  of  these  mines  cannot  be  traced 
farther  back  than  1347 

Some  of  the  Swedish  kings  have  forwarded  as  far 
as  possible  the  mining  interests  of  these  people, 
showing  themselves  personally  among  the  laborers. 
Gustavus  Adolphus  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  while 
in  one  of  the  chambers  at  Falun,  where  the  bright 
copper  shone  on  the  walls,  "  What  other  monarch  has 
such  a  palace  as  that  in  which  I  now  stand  ? "  These 
mines  are  now  comparatively  little  worked,  but  they 
have  their  attractions  for  strangers  who  are  interested 
in  the  mineral  resources  of  the  North. 

The  driving  in  Dalecarlia  is  in  the  Jehu  style.  Last 
year  some  travellers  were  about  to  land  at  Leksand  from 
a  steamboat,  when,  looking  up  at  a  road  that  led  down 
to  the  drawbridge  they  had  just  passed  through,  they 
saw  a  little  cart  come  rattling  down  at  a  wild  rate, 
the  peasant  who  was  driving  evidently  not  noticing 
that  the  drawbridge  was  still  open.  On  he  carne 
recklessly.  The  ladies  turned  away  their  faces,  but 
heard  the  horrible  plunge,  as  the  whole  establishment 
went  down  into  the  deep  water.  There  was  an  awful 
moment  of  suspense,  and  then  two  legs  in  white 


DALECARLIA.  283 

stockings  appeared  high  in  the  air,  sticking  out  from 
the  water.  The  man,  the  horse,  and  the  wagon  were 
drawn  out ;  the  wagon's  load,  a  barrel  of  mischievous 
whiskey,  was  never  recovered. 

The  dressing  and  raising  of  the  may-pole  on  Mid- 
summer Eve  in  Dalecarlia  is  a  specially  beautiful 
sight.  The  various  peasant  costumes  of  the  region 
make  the  picture  particularly  gay,  and  the  peculiar 
dances  that  have  come  down  from  the  far  past  are 
dexterously,  if  not  always  gracefully,  danced  by  the 
peasants. 

Many  of  the  younger  men  among  the  Dalecarlians 
are  now  unwilling  to  wear  their  national  dress.  They 
say  that  they  find  it  expensive,  and  that  it  marks 
them  as  peculiar  when  they  go  from  home.  They 
have  no  reason  for  dreading  that  kind  of  peculiarity  , 
for  all  Svea's  children  have  a  friendly  glance  for  true 
Dalecarlian  lads  and  lassies,  and  the  stranger's  not 
always  courteous  stare  is  sure  to  be  promptly  replaced 
by  a  smile  of  approval. 


284  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


THE  FINNS. 

ALTHOUGH  Sweden  has  ceased  to  own  Finland,  or  any 
portion  of  it,  the  Finns  own  a  part  of  Sweden,  for  the 
Finnish  immigrants  have  definitely  bounded  regions 
in  the  North  where  they  are  the  authorized  settlers. 
There  they  speak  their  own  language,  keep  up  their 
own  customs,  think  the  top  of  the  mass  of  the  masonry 
that  forms  their  store  the  best  sleeping-place ;  and  in 
the  ashes,  if  they  fancy  such  a  pet,  they  may  have  a 
harmless  snake,  as  a  member  of  the  family,  and  rejoice 
to  see  him  come  out  for  his  saucer  of  milk  every 
morning.  Tobacco  smoke  and  smoke  from  the  fire 
may  freely  mingle,  and  paint  the  rafters  so  black  that 
they  shine  like  ebony  when  carefully  scoured  on 
occasion.  The  Finnish  settler  is  generally,  notwith- 
standing his  weekly  bath  in  his  steam-house,  no  model 
of  neatness  in  his  appearance,  with  his  floating  dark 
hair  and  his  yellowish  gray  face.  He  likes  his  smoky 
cottage  best,  though  he  has  sometimes,  for  grand 
occasions,  "  a  Swedish  cottage,"  where  he  must  have 
his  company  manners  and  the  irksome  bonds  of 
unwonted  elegance. 

There  was  long  an  animosity  between  the  Swedes 
and  the  Finnish  settlers;  but  that  is  passing  away, 
and  with  the  more  friendly  feeling  many  of  the 
younger  Finns  have  adopted  Swedish  customs,  and 
even  in  some  districts  have  ceased  to  speak  their  own 
language,  though  their  Swedish  is  by  no  means  free 
from  eccentricities  of  expression  and  action. 


THE  FINNS.  286 

There  are  about  seventeen  thousand  Finns  in  Sweden, 
yet  they  never  seem  to  be  considered,  like  the  Lapps, 
whom  they  so  much  resemble,  to  form  an  integral  part 
of  the  population. 

One  must  not  judge  of  the  Finns  as  a  nation  from 
these  settlers  in  Sweden,  humble,  uneducated  people 
as  they  are.  The  Finns  whom  one  meets  in  Stock- 
holm are  among  the  most  agreeable  and  accomplished 
gentlemen,  and  the  Finnish  ladies  are  often  excep- 
tionally beautiful,  with  bright,  vivid  faces,  sparkling 
with  expression  that  changes  with  every  thought  and 
feeling.  Such  Finns  are,  however,  usually  of  Swedish 
descent,  in  part  if  not  wholly,  and  belong  to  families 
originally  Swedish,  long  established  in  Finland,  and 
have  retained  there  the  use  of  their  language.  A  Fin- 
nish lady  married  to  a  Swede  is  herself  made  a  Swede 
by  the  marriage  ceremony,  as  is  every  other  foreign 
bride  who  has  a  Swedish  bridegroom.  The  law  accepts 
her  as  a  Swede,  without  any  "expression  of  her  own 
wishes  on  the  subject.  The  law  cannot,  however, 
govern  that  unruly  member,  the  tongue,  that  generally 
remains  Finnish  with  a  Finn  while  life  lasts,  and  has 
its  own  peculiar  accent  and  its  own  theories  of  modu- 
lation in  utterance. 

Swedish  is  still  one  of  the  languages  of  Finland 
proper.  There  are  three  languages  —  Eussian,  Finnish, 
and  Swedish  —  that  are  requisite  for  a  position  in  bank, 
mercantile  establishment,  or  law  office,  in  many  parts 
of  Finland.  The  Finnish  and  the  Swedish  literature 
are  common  property  in  both  countries.  It  is  often 
hard  to  remember  that  the  distinguished  writers  of  our 
own  day  —  Runeberg,  Topelius,  etc.  —  have  handled 
their  gifted  pens  on  the  Eussian  side  of  the  Baltic.  . 


286  PICTURES   OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


THE   LAPPS. 

THE  Lapps,  so  different  in  their  appearance,  language, 
and  habits  from  the  ordinary  Swede,  have  always  been 
acknowledged  as  foster-members  of  the  Swedish  family, 
though  they  are  evidently  of  a  far  different  race. 
These  Lapps  have  roamed  their  fields  of  ice  and  snow 
and  moss  as  far  back  as  history  goes.  Their  origin  is 
lost  in  the  mists  of  remote  antiquity. 

There  are  about  two  thirds  as  many  Lapps  as  Finns 
in  Sweden.  "  The  census  man  "  must  have  a  difficulty 
in  numbering  and  locating  this  floating  population, 
who  ask  no  parish  priest  for  a  certificate  of  dismission ; 
when  they  are  on  the  move,  they  have  no  time  for 
such  formalities.  There  is  no  letting  of  houses  and 
no  fixed  "  moving  day  "  in  the  Lapps  region.  There 
can  be  no  family  discussion  as  to  when  "a  change" 
will  be  good  for  some  member  of  the  family,  for  the 
Lapp's  most  useful  servant  is  his  master  in  this 
respect. 

The  riches  of  the  Lapps  have  not  wings,  but  each 
treasure  is  supplied  with  four  active  feet,  that  go 
where  instinct  guides  them.  Twelve  thousand  such 
little  feet  may  be  in  motion,  some  morning,  and  the 
Lapp  knows  he  must  strike  his  tent,  make  ready  his 
sledges,  and  be  off  with  his  babies  and  his  limited 
possessions  in  the  direction  his  treasures  are  pleased 
to  lead  him.  He  can  in  a  measure  order  their  march, 
with  the  dogs  to  drive  in  the  "  strays  ; "  but  their  des- 


THE   LAPPS.  287 

tination  they  choose  for  themselves,  and  when  they 
think  best  to  stop,  the  Lapp  may  be  sure  that  there 
will  be  food  for  them.  If  at  a  halting-place  the  rein- 
deer only  browse  from  the  bushes  and  low  branches  of 
the  trees,  the  Lapp  knows  that  there  is  here  no  supply 
of  their  favorite  food  at  hand.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
the  wise  little  animals  begin  to  paw  diligently  in  the 
snow,  their  owner  knows  that  the  ground  below  is 
gray  with  the  moss  in  which  they  delight,  and  he 
forthwith  pitches  his  tent.  When  the  crust  over  the 
snow  is  thick  and  hard,  the  reindeer  may  suffer  and 
even  starve,  though  below  there  may  be  rich  stores  of 
moss.  When  the  herd  is  in  motion,  the  stamping  of 
so  many  small  feet,  and  a  peculiar  cracking  sound 
that  comes  from  the  legs  of  the  reindeer  when  rapidly 
walking,  announce  from  afar  that  the  Lapp  and  his 
train  are  en  route.  In  winter  the  valuables  of  the 
Lapps  are  packed  on  sledges  for  transportation,  but  in 
summer  they  are  laid  on  the  backs  of  the  reindeer, 
while  to  the  side  of  one  of  them  the  tent-poles  are 
lashed,  to  drag  along  behind  him. 

In  summer  the  reindeer  are  persistently  bound 
for  the  heights,  not  only  to  feast  on  the  moss  that 
there  covers  the  rocky  ground,  but  where  they  hope  to 
be  free  from  the  torments  of  the  mosquitoes,  and  are 
free  in  a  measure.  The  Lapp  can  sit  in  his  smoky  tent 
and  defy  these  buzzing  little  enemies  ;  but  the  reindeer 
is  defenceless  in  the  midst  of  the  venomous  swarms, 
that  gather  like  a  cloud  around  him.  They  fill  his  ears 
and  nostrils,  and  even  make  the  blood  drop  from  the 
imperfectly  developed  parts  of  his  horns.  As  for 
bushes,  the  reindeer  shuns  them  in  summer.  He 
knows  them  as  the  haunts  of  the  mosquito. 

The  Lapp  must  follow  the  reindeer.     His  herd  is 


288  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

to  him  what  the  butcher's  stall  and  the  village  shop 
are  to  the  rustic.  The  reindeer  wears  the  Lapp's 
clothes  first,  and  the  master  must  use  them  second 
hand.  The  animal  must  give  not  only  his  clothes,  at 
last,  but  his  life,  if  his  owner  is  to  have  his  store  of 
food  for  the  future ;  and  the  little  reindeer  must  share 
their  mother's  milk  with  the  little  Lapps,  his  play- 
mates. But  for  these  childish  companions,  the  reindeer 
would  be  hard  to  tame ;  but  he  is  accustomed  to  the 
human  voice  and  human  arrogance  almost  from  his 
birth.  Smoked  reindeer  is  quite  a  dainty  dish,  more 
tender  than  smoked  beef,  and  with  somewhat  the  flavor 
of  venison.  As  for  reindeer  skin  high-shoes,  any 
country  boy  in  Sweden  is  glad  to  draw  them  on  over 
his  every-day  pair,  when  off  for  a  tramp  through  the 
snow. 

There  are  six  Lapp  districts  in  Sweden,  which  taken 
together  form,  it  is  said,  one  fourth  of  the  whole  extent 
of  the  country.  One  of  them,  which  is  as  large  as  the 
kingdom  of  Wiirtemberg,  is  divided  into  but  two 
parishes.  Five  of  these  districts  are  in  the  far  North. 
They  have  their  lawful,  well-fixed  boundaries ;  but  the 
reindeer  do  not  understand  imaginary  lines  or  the 
niceties  of  surveyors,  and  are  sad  trespassers  on  the 
cultivated  lands  of  the  settlers.  The  settlers,  in 
vengeance  as  well  as  for  private  profit,  shoot  into  the 
midst  of  the  herds,  and  gather  up  their  spoil,  with  no 
man  to  hinder  them,  in  the  wild  waste  places  of  the 
North.  Both  settlers  and  Lapps  make  complaints  to 
the  Government,  and  cry  out  pitifully  for  protection 
and  redress.  In  such  difficulties  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  find,  even  with  the  best  intentions,  who  is  the 
chief  aggressor,  and  where  the  punishment  should  fall. 
Svea  has  her  own  trouble  with  these  outskirts  of  her 


THE  LAPPS.  289 

dominions  when  her  children  there  are  in  the  midst  of 
their  fierce  quarrels.  When  the  Lapps  are  suffering 
with  hunger,  then  Svea  sends  them  supplies,  that  prove 
her  good  motherly  heart;  but  when  they  are  in  the 
midst  of  a  feud  with  the  settlers,  she,  as  it  were,  boxes 
ears  all  round,  as  many  another  mother  has  done  when 
she  could  not  get  to  the  bottom  of  a  general  fight 
among  the  little  ones. 

The  Lapp  looks  much  like  a  very  small  American 
Indian  with  a  little  mulatto  blood  in  his  veins,  and 
yet  his  narrow  eyes  speak  of  the  Mongolian  race.  He 
seems  a  queer  compound,  made  up  from  the  scraps  of 
the  other  peoples  cast  out  to  form  the  dwarfed  bodies 
of  the  nation  of  wanderers  who  live  among  the  snows. 
A  Lapp  generally  has  thin  stiff  hair,  and  very  little 
beard.  He  thinks  himself  a  tall  man  if  he  is  more 
than  five  feet  high,  and  is  content  with  a  wife  very 
much  smaller  than  himself.  His  tent  —  called  as  if 
written  "  kota "  —  has  a  name  said  to  be  akin  to  the 
English  "  cot."  It  is  built  on  the  plan  of  the  American 
child's  beanpole  hut ;  but  the  Lapp  has  slender  birch 
trunks  for  his  framework,  and  every  pole  is  firmly 
fastened  in  the  ground,  before  the  reindeer  skins  or 
the  sail-cloth  covering  is  dexterously  thrown  over 
them.  Before  the  fire  is  made,  a  man  of  moderate  size 
could  stand  under  the  opening  for  the  smoke  to  escape, 
but  he  must  creep  round  the  outer  edge  of  the  tent,  if 
he  ever  wishes  to  move  there  at  all.  A  sledge  some- 
times serves  for  the  door  of  the  tent  or  hut,  though  it  is 
usually  only  a  drop  curtain.  The  floor,  which  may  be 
the  bare  ground,  or  the  snow  is  covered  first  with  birch 
or  spruce  branches,  over  which  reindeer  skins  are 
carefully  spread.  A  flat  stone  in  the  middle  serves 
for  a  hearth;  the  one  cooking-utensil,  a  great  kettle, 

19 


290  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

hangs  from  a  bar  across  the  opening  at  the  top  of  the 
tent.  A  dense  cloud  of  smoke  makes  almost  a  twilight 
in  the  strange  home ;  even  the  Lapps  must  some- 
times shed  forced  tears,  and  strangers  are  always  red- 
eyed  and  weeping,  when  inside  such  a  tent.  The  dogs 
often  have  their  own  little  door  with  its  curtain,  where 
they  go  out  and  in,  as  it  pleases  them.  The  Lapps  are 
very  hospitable,  and  politely  give  the  stranger  a  place 
on  the  great  chest  where  the  family  valuables  are  kept, 
generally  the  only  seat  in  the  hut.  The  rules  of 
etiquette  and  precedence  are  as  strict  in  a  Lapp  tent  as 
at  court,  the  right  of  the  door  being  the  honorable  side 
of  the  premises.  A  reindeer  skin  serves  both  for  table 
and  cloth,  and  there  the  wooden  dish  is  placed,  sur- 
rounded by  the  group  of  grown  Lapps,  little  children, 
and  dogs.  The  reindeer  meat  is  eaten  smoked,  boiled, 
or  roasted,  and  often  without  bread  or  salt. 

When  the  female  reindeer  is  to  be  milked,  she  is 
caught  round  the  neck  by  a  kind  of  lasso,  and  the  rope 
is  then  tied  to  a  tree.  The  reindeer  feeds  at  night, 
and  he  is  driven  out  to  find  his  own  food  whatever 
the  weather  may  be.  In  the  morning  he  is  forced 
into  an  enclosure  surrounded  by  a  rude  fence,  made  of 
boughs  and  branches  tangled  together,  from  tree  to 
tree. 

In  the  winter  the  reindeer  are  killed,  for  they  are 
then  the  fattest.  No  Lapp  starves  while  he  has  a 
reindeer  to  kill  or  to  sell ;  and  purchasers  are  not  hard 
to  find,  for  there  are  always  shrewd  traders  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  Lapp  and  his  herd.  A  traveller 
among  the  Lapps  generally  has  three  sledges  in  his 
service,  —  one  for  himself,  one  for  his  guide,  and  one  for 
his  effects. 

The  Lapp  wears  no  linen.     His  clothes  are  all  for 


THE   LAPPS. 


291 


warmth  ;  but  he  is  fond  of  ornament,  and  likes  to  wear 
a  silver  collar  and  belt  on  festal  occasions.  Whole 
herds  of  reindeer  with  their  masters  have  disappeared 


A     LAPP'S     SILVER     COLLAR. 

in  the  awful  crevasses  of  Sulitelma,  which  is  said  to 
be  the  largest  glacier  in  Europe.  There,  in  the  moving 
masses  of  ice,  the  stones  are  heard  grating  together, 
and  now  and  then  some  huge  frozen  pyramid  topples 
over  with  a  horrible  crash. 


292  PICTURES   OF    SWEDISH   LIFE. 

It  may  be  wondered  whether  the  Lapp,  like  the 
Swede,  has  an  eye  for  the  beauties  of  Nature.  Nature 
has  her  smiles  even  in  Lapland.  When  the  short  sum- 
mer comes,  flowers  of  bright  color  spring  into  blossom, 
in  rich  masses  of  red,  yellow,  and  white,  and  even 
butterflies  may  be  seen  in  the  far  North.  These 
flowering  plants  grow  low,  with  their  branches  close 
pressed  to  the  ground,  thus  escaping  the  cold  and  the 
harsh  drying  winds.  Their  leaves  are  evergreen,  and 
often  last  several  years,  so  that  when  the  warm  breath 
of  summer  comes,  they  have  but  to  throw  up  their 
buds  and  blossoms,  and  make  bright  the  earth  with 
their  clusters  of  bloom. 

To  turn  to  the  prosaic,  the  father  of  a  Lapp  family 
is  not  only  the  provider  and  butcher  for  the  family,  he 
is  also  the  cook,  but  will  confide  the  care  of  the  kettle 
to  some  one  else,  if  he  has  a  guest  whom  he  wishes  to 
honor.  The  mother  is  the  shoemaker,  tailor,  and 
tanner  for  the  family,  as  well  as  the  guardian  of  the 
little  ones.  The  father  makes  all  the  tools  that  he 
needs,  and  as  he  is  a  jack-of-all-trades,  he  needs  many. 
The  sledges,  of  his  own  work,  are  often  beautifully 
fashioned.  It  is  he  who  goes  to  the  coast  to  do  the 
family  shopping.  He  sells  the  reindeer  meat  and 
skins,  and  comes  back,  well  pleased,  with  his  sup- 
plies, which  are  chiefly  coffee  and  tobacco.  The  Lapps 
are  fond  of  smoking,  —  the  women  as  well  as  the 
men. 

When  the  wolves  are  very  troublesome,  the  Lapp 
betakes  himself  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  nearest 
church,  where  there  are  always  some  settlers  to  be 
found.  This  is  no  light  journey,  as  there  may  be 
sixty  English  miles  between  him  and  the  strange  little 
building  which  he  calls  a  church.  Here  he  sets  up  his 


THE  LAPPS.  293 

tent,  with  somewhat  more  care  than  usual,  and  starts 
to  the  surrounding  forests  for  food  for  his  herd.  At 
the  best  the  tent  of  a  Lapp  is  not  a  charming  place 
of  abode.  After  midsummer,  he  drives  his  herd  near 
to  the  dwelling,  and  the  making  of  cheese  is  then  the 
Lapp's  occupation.  If  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  his 
herd,  he  sometimes  becomes  a  regular  settler,  with  only 
a  goat  to  rely  upon  for  milk;  or  worse,  he  wanders 
as  a  beggar,  and  is  known  as  that  much  despised  creat- 
ure, "  a  poor  Lapp." 

The  Lapps  hold  the  modern  ideas  as  to  dress,  for 
they  make  very  little  difference  in  that  for  a  man  or  a 
woman.  Both  generally  wear  in  summer  a  short 
gray  homespun  shirt,  with  trousers  tied  round  the 
ankles  by  a  gaudy  yellow  band.  The  sleeves  are 
usually  turned  up  with  red.  The  shoes  are  high, 
broad-soled,  and  with  pointed  toes.  They  wear  no 
stockings,  but  have  a  kind  of  braided  grass  wound 
round  the  foot.  The  belt,  adorned  with  silver  or  tin 
ornaments,  is  their  especial  pride.  The  pointed  cap 
is  of  course  an  essential  part  of  their  dress,  The  moun- 
tain Lapps  wear  the  gayest  colors.  The  forest  Lapp 
has  the  same  gaudy  taste.  The  fisher  Lapp,  if  at  all 
prosperous,  soon  dresses  like  any  other  Swede.  The 
Lapps  are  spoken  of  in  various  classes,  and  bear 
different  names  according  to  their  occupations.  It  is, 
however,  the  wandering  families  with  their  herds  of 
reindeer  who  are  meant  when  the  general  name  Lapp 
is  used. 

A  traveller  tells  of  a  visit  to  a  Lapp  family  whom 
he  accompanied  to  their  place  of  encampment.  The 
tent  was  soon  set  up,  and  the  fire  made.  The  kettle 
was  hung  at  once,  and  filled  with  —  snow  !  This  novel 
provision  was  laded  in  with  a  great  wooden  spoon, 


294  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

which  was  left  sticking  in  the  midst  of  the  white 
mass.  The  Lapps  took  off  their  wet  coats  and  hung 
them  up  to  dry,  and  the  reindeer  meat  was  laid  near 
the  fire,  to  thaw  sufficiently  to  be  chopped  in  pieces. 
If  the  chopper  failed  to  cut  off  a  junk  at  every  blow, 
his  failure  was  followed  by  a  general  laugh  of  derision, 
which  he  heard  with  perfect  composure  Sparks  from 
the  fire  began  to  fly  into  the  eyes  of  the  Lapp,  and 
there  was  another  laugh  at  the  sufferer's  expense, 
unless  he  were  the  stranger,  and  then  no  one  even 
smiled,  until  the  victim  set  the  example,  when  there 
was  a  regular  roar. 

As  soon  as  the  snow  was  melted,  some  of  the  water 
was  eagerly  drank  by  the  thirsty  group  around  the  fire. 
When  the  soup  was  at  last  made,  the  Lapps  clasped 
their  hands  for  a  "grace,"  and  the  same  was  done 
after  the  meal.  The  man  who  had  officiated  as  cook 
was  then  courteously  thanked  for  his  trouble.  He 
replied  with,  "  May  God  add  his  blessing  ! "  or  "  May 
it  do  you  good  ! " 

Soon  all  said  the  usual  Lapp  "  good-night,"  as  cere- 
moniously as  if  each  were  to  take  his  candle  and  retire 
to  his  own  quiet  bedroom.  As  it  was,  the  stranger 
wrapped  himself  in  his  reindeer  skin,  and  taking  his 
bear-skin  cap  for  a  pillow,  lay  down.  His  hip  was  a 
pillow  for  his  next  neighbor,  and  his  for  the  next  until 
all  the  circle  had  wreathed  the  fire  around,  the  Lapps 
soon  falling  into  a  deep  sleep.  Strangers  find  having 
the  face  to  the  fire  and  the  back  to  the  cold  not 
always  sleep-promoting,  but  even  they  grow  drowsy 
at  last. 

Even  as  early  as  the  days  of  Queen  Margareta,  who 
died  in  1412,  a  missionary  was  sent  to  the  heathen 
Lapps  who  bore  the  Queen's  own  name.  Such  efforts 


THE  LAPPS. 


295 


were  renewed  from  time  to  time,  with  little  success. 
Good  impressions  are  easily  worn  away  in  the  Lapp's 
wandering  life,  cut  off  as  he  is  for  long  periods  from 
church  services  or  any  reminder  of  the  first  day  of  the 
week.  Gradually,  however,  an  impression  for  good  has 
been  made  on  these  wandering  people.  Many  of  them 


A   DEAD   LAPP. 

are  eager  for  the  outward  ministration  of  the  pastors 
now  appointed  over  the  various  large  parishes  of  the 
North,  Babies  a  few  days  old  are  carried  long  distances 
over  the  snow  for  baptism,  and  the  little  pilgrims 
heavenward  have  been  known  to  die  during  this  first 
stage  of  their  earthly  journey  In  the  winter  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  are  often  buried  deep  down  in  the  snow,  to 
be  borne  in  the  late  spring,  in  a  long  funeral  proces- 


296  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

sion,  to  the  church,  where  they  can  have  Christian 
burial  and  be  laid  in  consecrated  ground.  An  arrange- 
ment has  been  made  so  that  the  young  people  among 
the  Lapps  can  be  received  in  families  (farther  south 
than  their  parents'  feeding-grounds  for  the  reindeer), 
where  for  a  time  in  settled  homes  they  can  receive 
instruction  before  their  Confirmation.  This  excellent 
charity  has  had  an  encouraging  amount  of  success. 
Colporteurs,  with  the  Bible  and  other  good  books  in 
the  Lapp  language,  go  about  in  the  North,  and  are 
kindly  welcomed  and  listened  to  in  the  homes  of  the 
people. 

The  iron  mountain  in  Lapland,  Gellivara,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  largest  ore-field  in  the  world,  has 
another  attraction  to  the  traveller  in  Sweden,  as  there 
it  is  possible,  from  June  5th  to  July  10th,  to  see  the 
midnight  sun.  One  hears  even  of  parties  of  ladies 
without  escort,  who  undertake  this  trip  and  have  no 
special  difficulties  in  accomplishing  it.  At  Gellivara  on 
a  mountain  incorrectly  called  "  Dundret,"  the  Tourists' 
Association  have  a  pavilion,  where  the  traveller  can 
sit  at  his  ease  and  watch  the  never  setting  sun  At  the 
office  of  the  same  association  in  Stockholm  strangers 
can  secure,  in  English,  directions  as  to  how  this  jour- 
ney may  be  managed. 

A  certain  Swedish  schoolmaster  of  long  ago  liked 
specially  to  descant  vividly  on  the  wonderful  charms 
of  Rome.  He  was  not  seldom  interrupted  by  mischie- 
vous boys,  with  the  question,  "Have  you  been  there, 
Magister?"  "Yes?  yes!  yes!  but  not  personally, 
child!"  was  his  invariable  answer.  Many  travellers 
returning  from  Sweden  have  availed  themselves  of  a 
similar  response  when  asked  if  they  had  seen  the  mid- 
night sun ;  others,  in  increasing  numbers,  are  tempted 


THE   LAPPS.  297 

to  no  such  subterfuge,  for  they  have  indeed  looked 
upon  this  great  wonder. 

Avasaxa,  just  over  the  border  line  between  Finland 
and  Sweden,  was,  until  recently,  the  place  of  resort 
for  seeing  the  great  wonder  of  the  North.  In  the 
time  of  the  father  of  Karl  XII.,  it  was  actually  at- 
tempted by  the  King  himself. 

Avasaxa  is  about  twenty-four  English  miles  north 
of  Tornea,  which  lies  by  the  coast,  at  the  head  of  the 
Gulf  of  Bothnia.  Tornea  Eiver,  which  flows  through  a 
fruitful  valley,  is  the  guide  through  the  whole  trip  up- 
ward from  the  sea.  The  Finns,  who  live  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  are  generally  a  simple,  comfortable  people. 
They  are  supported  by  their  plentiful  harvests,  their 
dairies,  and  their  salmon  fisheries,  the  best  in  the  far 
North. 

A  traveller  describes  the  midnight  sun  at  Avasaxa 
as  follows :  "  The  rays  of  the  sun  seemed  to  have 
blended  with  its  disk,  so  that  they  together  formed  a 
great  red  moon,  which  hung  just  above  the  horizon, 
and  seemed  gently  swinging,  crossed  by  black  bands 
of  cloud.  Nature  wore  an  almost  frightful  aspect  in 
this  unnatural  light.  Towards  the  north,  on  each  side 
of  the  sun,  rose  an  immeasurable  perspective  of  giant 
pillars,  every  one  a  mountain  larger  and  more  irreg- 
ularly formed  than  Avasaxa.  When  hardly  a  half 
hour  had  passed,  the  sun  seemed  to  lift  itself  afresh, 
and  suddenly  cast  forth  its  flaming  beams.  The  weird 
time  had  passed,  and  songs  filled  the  air  from  a  simple 
choir,  improvised  for  the  purpose.  Finnish  and 
Swedish  melodies  succeeded  each  other,  far  into  the 
morning.  The  mountain  was  slowly  deserted.  The 
Swedes  climbed  down  the  western  side,  and  the  Finns 
disappeared  towards  the  east." 


298  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

From  the  Americans  at  home,  who  have  been  thus 
far  our  companions,  we  part  for  a  moment  here  at 
Avasaxa,  before  we  begin  to  explore  with  them  the 
past  of  Sweden,  as  we  have  enjoyed  with  them 
thoughts  of  its  present. 


V. 

SVEA'S   CHILDREN   OF  THE   PAST. 


SVEA'S  CHILDREN  OF  THE  PAST. 


UNDERGROUND  HISTORY. 
THE  GREAT-GRANDMOTHER. 
A  VIKING  AT  HOME. 
AN  OLD  ROVER. 
SWEDEN'S   FIRST   MISSION- 
ARY. 


THE  ROYAL  SAINT. 
AN  UNCROWNED  KING. 
MAGNUS  LOCK-THE-BARN. 
SANTA  BIRGITTA. 
MARGARETA'S  UNION. 


UNDERGROUND   HISTORY.1 

A  MODERN  writer  has  said,  "  Tell  me  what  a  man 
eats,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  he  is."  The 
Swede  is  fed  on  the  history  of  his  country.  Even 
while  he  is  dandled  on  the  knee  he  hears  plans  for  the 
courtship  of  little  Queen  Margareta,  while  he  is 
trotted  to  the  jingle  of  "Rida,  rida  ranka."  The 
small  scholars  of  the  village  school  are  as  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  doings  of  the  vikings  as  if  they 
were  their  next-door  neighbors.  Through  life,  the 
heroes  of  Swedish  history  are  the  familiar  friends  of 
the  Swedes ;  it  is  therefore  not  strange  that  the  char- 
acter of  Svea's  children  of  the  present  mirrors  that  of 
the  children  of  the  past,  save  that  the  sword  has  been 
turned  into  the  ploughshare,  and  the  former  red  battle- 
fields are  now  waving  with  the  golden  grain. 

The  study  of  the  history  of  Sweden  begins  with 
underground  researches.  Not  that  we  are  personally 
to  handle  the  pickaxe  and  the  shovel.  That  has  been 
done  for  us.  We  need  but  step  into  the  basement 
rooms  of  the  Swedish  National  Museum  and  look  about 
us.  Happy  if  we  have  the  Royal  Antiquarian  or  the 
learned  and  agreeable  Professor  Montelius  to  explain 
and  expound  for  us !  Before  us,  in  orderly  rows,  are 

1  This  is  no  solid  and  scholarly  bit  of  Swedish  history,  nor  is  it  even 
a  hasty  outline  of  its  most  important  events.  It  is  rather  as  if  one 
were  with  an  American  friend  in  a  Swedish  picture-gallery,  and  paus- 
ing now  and  then  before  a  striking  portrait,  should  tell  in  an  informal 
and  familiar  way  the  story  of  the  original. 


302  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

glass  cases,  where  we  may  see  what  was  seen  and  used 
by  those  old  Swedes  of  some  thousands  of  years  ago. 

Of  course  we  begin  at  the  STONE  AGE,  when  the 
tools  and  household  implements  were  skilfully  wrought 
from  the  living  rock.  We  examine  the  spear-heads 
and  the  arrow-heads,  the  daggers  and  the  axes  of  the 
warriors  of  that  remote  day,  and  even  the  scrapers  that 
assisted  them  in  thorough-going  though  savage  toilet. 
We  can  know  the  fashion  of  the  bone  fishhook  of  the 
sportsman  and  of  the  grindstones  of  the  fireside.  We 
may  even  examine  a  plan  or  a  model  of  the  rude  burial 
chambers,  where  many  of  these  treasures  were  found. 

In  the  succeeding  BRONZE  AGE,  we  come  upon  more 
skilful  and  delicate  workmanship.  We  have  now  not 
only  necessary  tools  and  warlike  instruments,  but  beau- 
tifully finished  articles  for  household  use.  We  have, 
too,  rich  golden  ornaments  for  finger  and  wrist  and 
neck  and  head,  fashioned  with  exquisite  skill  We 
see,  if  not  the  comb  which  a  mermaid  has  used  for  her 
yellow  hair,  yet  the  honored  instrument  that  arranged 
the  tresses  of  a  to  us  little  less  mysterious  lady.  We 
may  see  her  needles,  her  stiletto,  her  pincers,  and  her 
own  dress,  or  that  of  her  maid,  —  full  woollen  skirt 
with  a  braided  cord,  tasselled  at  the  end,  as  a  belt,  a 
short  sacque,  and  a  close-fitting  cap  with  strings. 

Rock  carvings  in  the  style  of  children's  "  playing  on 
the  slate,"  give  us  a  notion  of  the  boats  and  chariots 
of  the  far  Bronze  Age,  and  even  of  the  fights  by  land 
and  sea  among  its  mystical  peoples. 

In  the  IRON  AGE,  we  find  signs  of  intercourse  with 
distant  Rome,  in  Roman  coins  and  traces  of  Roman 
art.  Iron  has  come  into  use  and  been  adapted  to  its 
appropriate  purposes.  From  various  finds  we  can  get 
a  fair  idea  of  the  ordinary  dress  of  a  warrior  of  about 


UNDERGROUND  HISTORY. 


303 


A   NORTHERN   WARRIOR. 


three  hundred  years  after  the  Christian  era,  and  see  a 
bit  of  the  chain  armor  he  wore. 


304  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

In  the  runes  or  secrets  of  the  Iron  Age,  we  have  in- 
scriptions on  stone  and  gold,  over  which  antiquarians 
have  studied  until  they  have  found  the  key  to  their 
meaning. 

We  may  even  know,  in  the  later  Iron  Age,  that 
Charon  was  not  expected  to  ferry  the  old  heathen  to 
the  shore  beyond  the  waters  of  death,  but  that  he 
was  sometimes  buried  in  his  own  boat,  with  his  horses 
and  weapons  of  war  with  him,  to  sail  if  he  chose,  or 
ride  fully  armed  into  the  far  country. 


THE   GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.  305 


THE  GREAT-GKANDMOTHER. 

To  the  Edda  (great-grandmother,  in  Icelandic)  we 
must  go  for  the  history,  in  song  and  saga,  of  what  we 
now  call  Sweden.  These  ditties  and  ballads  and  le- 
gends were  probably  written  in  Scandinavia,  but  were 
stored  away  (how  early  in  our  era  we  cannot  say)  in 
Iceland,  hidden  as  it  were  in  that  wonderful  refrigera- 
tor, to  be  brought  out  long  afterwards  for  the  delecta- 
tion of  poet  and  scholar  and  historian. 

This  garrulous  great-grandmother,  or  these  great- 
grandmothers  (for  there  are  two  Eddas),  tell  us  not 
only  of  the  secrets  of  Northern  mythology  and  the 
doings  in  Valhalla,  but  they  open  for  us  the  doors  of 
the  viking's  home,  and  give  us  a  picture  of  his  domes- 
tic life  as  well  as  of  his  fierce  .conflicts.  We  read :  — 

"  Then  took  the  mother 
The  embroidered  cloth 
Of  linen,  white, 
And  laid  it  on  the  board. 
Then  set  she  down 
Thin  loaves  of  bread, 
Wheaten,  white, 
Upon  the  cloth. 
Next  brought  she  forth 
Dishes  brimfnll, 
Silver-mounted, 
High-flavored  ham, 
And  roasted  fowl. 
There  was  wine  in  the  cans, 
Beauteous  cups. 
They  drank,  they  talked 
Till  break  of  day." 
20 


306 


PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


"  The  dishes  or  plates  upon  which  the  food  was 
served  were  indeed,  usually,  simple  wooden  trenchers 
though  sometimes  we  have  descriptions  of  such  as 
were  partly  of  silver."  Food  was  cut  with  the  com- 


FRITIOP    AND    INGEBORO. 

mon  knives  that  every  one  wore  attached  to  the  belt 
Forks  were  unknown,  fingers  were  used  instead,  and 
the  hands  scrupulously  washed  before  and  after  meals. 
Honey  took  the  place  of  sugar,  and  milk  of  tea  and 
coffee.  Mead  was  a  costly  drink  for  rare  occasions, 
and  wine  seems  to  have  been  scarce.  The  drinking- 


THE   GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.  307 

horn  was  passed  round  by  the  daughters  of  the  house. 
A  tiny  silver  image  of  such  a  damsel,  obliging  but 
apparently  not  beautiful,  is  preserved  in  the  National 
Museum. 

The  Edda  has  not  only  been  the  treasure-house  of 
information  about  the  early  days  of  Sweden,  it  is  "  the 
great-grandmother  of  Scandinavian  poetry,"  and  teaches, 
in  this  respect,  by  example  as  well  as  direct  instruction. 
Alliteration  is  a  favorite  mode  of  ornamentation  and 
increase  of  expression  in  the  Edda,  and  is  to  this  day 
much  and  successfully  used  by  some  of  the  poets  of 
Sweden. 

TegneYs  beautiful  rendering  of  Fritiof  Saga  makes 
us  at  home  among  the  vikings,  in  war  and  peace.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  give  here  quotations  from  its  valued 
pages,  for  they  are  translated  into  all  modern  lan- 
guages, and  everywhere  read  with  hearty  admiration. 

Professor  Tegner,  as  a  poet,  won  enthusiastic  appre- 
ciation in  Sweden,  and  in  the  end  a  bishop's  mitre,  as 
well  as  an  unseen  but  ever  fresh  laurel  crown. 


308  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


A  VIKING  AT  HOME. 

He  now  learned 
To  tame  oxen 
And  till  the  ground, 
To  timber  houses 
And  build  barns, 
To  make  carts 
And  form  ploughs. 

The  father  sat 
And  twined  his  bowstring, 
Bent  elin  for  bow, 
And  shafted  arrows. 
But  the  housewife  thought 
Of  handiwork, 
Smoothed  her  linen 
And  starched  her  sleeves. 

EDDA. 

WE  are  too  apt  to  think  of  the  "old  homestead," 
in  the  viking  days,  as  like  an  eagle's  nest  in  a  lone 
cliff,  where  the  young  were  trained  only  as  birds  of 
prey,  for  future  deeds  of  blood.  We  have  another  side 
of  the  picture  in  the  description  of  "  Sigurd  Ring,  King 
over  Svealand,"  who  was  reckoned  in  the  North  one 
of  the  richest  and  wisest  and  bravest  men  of  his  own 
time. 

News  had  been  brought  that  Sigurd's  stepson,  the 
future  Saint  Olaf  of  Norway,  was  returning  unex- 
pectedly from  one  of  his  roving  expeditions.  The 
announcement  found  the  Queen  at  work  in  the  midst 


A   VIKING  AT  HOME.  309 

of  her  maidens.  There  was  promptly  the  stir  of  prep- 
aration. The  tapestries  must  be  hung  on  the  walls, 
and  fresh  hay  strewn  on  the  floor,  and  ale  set  on  the 
table. 

A  swift  messenger  was  at  once  sent  to  the  King  in 
the  field,  who  was  superintending  the  harvesters  and 
critically  scanning  the  farmyard.  This  gentleman 


OLD   NORTHERN   HALL. 

farmer  was  dressed  in  a  blue  coat,  blue  stockings,  and 
high  shoes  (bound  round  the  legs),  a  gray  cloak  over 
his  coat,  a  broad-brimmed  hat  with  a  veil,  and  carried 
a  staff  with  silver-gilt  chain  and  mountings  in  his 
royal  hand.  While  thirty  well-armed  horsemen  were 
summoned  to  attend  him,  Sigurd  donned  then  and 
there  his  festal  apparel,  sent  him  by  his  provident 
wife.  He  drew  on  his  Cordovan  boots,  buckled  his 
golden  spurs,  put  on  his  silken  clothing,  cast  over  all 


310  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

his  scarlet  mantle,  belted  on  his  sword,  brilliant  with 
inlaid  work,  and  laid  aside  hat  and  veil  for  his  gilded 
helm.  His  horse  was  brought  to  him,  decked  with 
shining  cloth  of  gold.  So  rode  King  Sigurd  to  his 
home. 

Between  the  various  buildings  —  hall  and  sleeping- 
rooms,  virgin's  bower,  and  the  abodes  of  the  dependants, 
—  stood  the  still  ranks  of  the  retainers.  The  stepson 
made  his  magnificent  entree,  with  his  banner  flying, 
and  accompanied  by  a  hundred  warriors.  There,  in  the 
open  air,  the  traveller  was  heartily  welcomed,  and  then 
he  must  be  conducted  into  the  house  to  drink  with  his 
step-father,  and  meet  his  mother  waiting,  in  womanly 
dignity,  for  him  to  come  to  her  under  the  roof.  She 
kissed  the  rover,  and  assured  him  that  everything  in 
the  house  was  at  his  command.  There  she  led  him  to 
his  due  place  of  honor.  King  Sigurd  detailed  certain 
men  to  care  for  the  wardrobe  of  the  strangers,  and  to 
see  that  there  was  proper  entertainment  for  beast  as 
well  as  man,  and  then  sat  down  himself  on  the  "  high 
seat,"  and  the  feast  was  held  after  the  noblest  fashion. 
The  stepson,  during  his  visit,  was  regaled  "  one  day 
with  fish  and  milk,  and  the  next  with  meat  and  ale." 
After  a  short  stay  with  his  mother,  Olaf  departed 
with  his  men,  to  bring  under  his  subjection  the  whole 
kingdom  of  Norway. 

As  for  Sigurd  Ring,  he  was  not  always  at  home 
playing  the  royal  farmer.  He  is  heard  of  in  the 
martial  triumphs  of  the  day,  and  especially  in  the 
great  battle  of  Bravalla,  one  of  the  most  famous  "  well- 
fought  fields"  of  Northern  story,  which  left  Sigurd 
Ring  ruler  over  all  the  Swedes  and  Danes  of  the 
peninsula. 


AN   OLD   ROVER.  311 


AN   OLD   EOVER 

FICTION  and  fact,  legend  and  history,  struggle  and 
blend  in  the  snake  story  of  which  Ragnar  Lodbrok, 
the  son  of  Sigurd  Eing,  is  the  hero. 

A  certain  beautiful  daughter  of  a  Jarl  has  in  her 
maiden's  bower  a  casket,  given  her  by  her  father,  its 
treasure  a  beautiful  little  serpent,  which  is  her  play- 
thing and  her  darling.  The  fascinating  little  creature 
grows  and  grows,  day  by  day,  with  amazing  rapidity, 
till  first  the  casket  cannot  contain  him,  then  the 
maiden's  bower  is  too  small  for  him.  He  coils  round 
the  outside  of  the  home  of  his  mistress,  and  like  a 
jealous  watch-dog,  will  let  no  one  approach  her.  She 
is  a  helpless  prisoner,  while  none  dare  venture  within 
the  reach  of  his  poisonous  breath. 

Of  course  the  Jarl  issues  a  proclamation  that  any  one 
who  will  slay  the  serpent  and  deliver  his  daughter  may 
claim  her  for  his  bride. 

Now  Eagnar  comes  on  the  stage.  At  fifteen  years 
of  age,  he  has  precociously  begun  his  viking  career, 
and  has  developed  into  a  model  of  beauty  and  bravery. 
He  hears  of  the  distress  of  Sora,  the  Jarl's  daughter, 
and  is  secretly  resolved  to  deliver  her.  He  prepares 
for  himself  wonderful  hairy  garments,  which,  having 
been  boiled  in  tar  and  then  dipped  in  sand,  and  suffered 
afterwards  to  harden,  have  become  impervious  to  a  ser- 
pent's breath  and  make  the  wearer  invulnerable  for  all 
weapons.  He  kills  the  serpent,  compels  the  Jarl  to 


312  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

keep  his  promise,  and  carries  off  his  bride.  Tora  holds 
her  lover  by  silken  chains,  and  he  stays  quietly  at 
home  with  her  and  the  two  little  boys  that  are  born  to 
him,  until  she  is  laid  in  an  early  grave.  Then,  sorrow- 
ful and  desperate,  Ragnar  roams  the  seas  again  in  his 
dragon  ships. 

One  day  when  near  the  Norwegian  coast,  Ragnar 
sent  his  men  on  shore  to  bake  bread.  They  came  back 
with  their  loaves  burned,  excusing  themselves  for  the 
charred  crusts  by  saying  that  they  had  seen  in  a  horrid 
old  woman's  cottage  such  a  beautiful  damsel  that  they 
must  needs  look  at  her  and  let  the  baking  go  on  as  it 
could. 

Ragnar  at  once  found  out  the  name  of  the  charmer, 
and  the  next  morning  Kraka  was  summoned  to  come 
on  board  the  vessel,  neither  clothed  nor  naked,  neither 
fasting  nor  satisfied,  neither  alone  nor  in  company 
She  came,  wrapped  in  a  fish-net,  with  her  long  fair  hair 
flowing  around  her  like  a  veil.  She  had  but  touched 
her  lips  with  an  onion,  and  had  a  dog  as  her  escort  and 
protector. 

Ragnar  wished  to  give  her  at  once  the  gold- 
embroidered  skirt  of  his  Tora,  which  the  widower  had 
probably  taken  to  sea  with  him  for  its  tender  associa- 
tions. Kraka  said,  in  reply,  "  Such  a  garment  does  not 
become  a  maid  who  dwells  in  a  cottage ;  but  if  thou 
dost  not  change  thy  mind,  thou  canst  send  for  me  at 
some  future  day." 

The  next  summer  Ragnar  appeared,  constant  and 
eager,  and  carried  off  Kraka  as  his  queen.  Then  Kraka 
told  her  bridegroom  that  she  was  no  child  of  a  cottage, 
but  of  a  hero,  who  had  been  deceitfully  and  ignobly 
slain.  Her  foster-father  had  borne  her  off  in  his  harp 
to  the  coast  of  Norway.  At  a  cottage  where  he  slept, 


AN  OLD   ROVER.  313 

a  gold  ring  that  he  wore,  and  a  peep  at  some  rich 
texture  that  seemed  to  be  hidden  in  the  harp,  prompted 
the  cottagers  to  kill  their  guest.  Hidden  in  the  harp 
was  truly  rich  drapery ;  but  it  was  worn  by  a  little  girl, 
secreted  within.  They  took  the  child  as  their  own, 
called  her  Kraka,  and  soon  set  her  to  watch  their 
goats,  and  be  to  them  more  as  a  servant  than  a 
daughter.  Kagnar  and  Kraka  had  four  sons,  the 


A   RUNIC   STONE. 

youngest  of  whom  had  something  peculiar  about  his 
eyes,  from  which  he  was  called  "  Snake  in  the  eye." 
The  sons  were  fierce  rovers,  winning  everywhere  fame 
and  booty,  and  leaving  death  and  desolation  behind 
them,  even  penetrating  to  Spain  and  far  Italy. 

When  Ragnar  grew  old  at  last,  he  refused  "  to  die 
like  a  worn-out  dog  at  the  hearthstone."  He  would 
take  two  great  ships  and  conquer  England.  He  would 
not  listen  to  the  advice  of  his  wife,  to  have  smaller 
vessels  that  could  land  on  England's  coast ;  so  she  did 
her  best,  and  gave  him  a  shirt  of  mail  which  no  weapon 
could  pierce,  and  then,  with  many  forebodings,  bade 
him  farewell. 


314  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

The  great  vessels  were  dashed  in  pieces,  but  the 
fierce  vikings  swam  to  land,  and  ravaged  castles  and 
villages  along  the  English  shore.  King  Ella  summoned 
his  horsemen,  and  hastened  to  repulse  the  invaders, 
giving,  however,  the  order  that  the  leader  should  be 
taken  alive.  "  For,"  said  the  prudent  King,  "  Ragnar 
has  such  sons  that  if  he  should  fall  here,  it  would  go 
ill  for  us." 

The  English  hosts  were  too  many  for  the  few 
strangers.  It  was  in  vain  that  Ragnar,  left  to  fight 
alone,  struck  mighty  blows  that  no  shield  or  buckler 
could  stand,  while  he  himself  was  protected  by  Kraka's 
shirt  of  mail.  He  was  in  the  end  surrounded,  walled 
in  by  the  enemies'  shields,  and  taken.  He  refused  to 
tell  his  name.  The  English  should  not  know  that 
they  had  Ragnar  Lodbrok  for  their  prisoner.  The 
captive  was  cast  into  a  den  of  serpents,  till  he  should 
own  his  name  and  be  dealt  with  accordingly.  The 
snakes  could  not  harm  him  while  he  had  Kraka's  gift 
as  a  protection.  When  that  was  taken  away,  they 
fastened  upon  him,  and,  dying,  he  cried  out,  "  The  pigs 
would  grunt  if  they  knew  what  the  old  hog  was 
suffering." 

Terrible,  indeed,  was  the  vengeance  of  the  sons ;  but 
they  too  were  conquered  at  last,  though  one  of  them, 
afterwards,  gained  by  deceit  possession  of  the  country, 
says  the  story,  and  reigned  king  of  England. 

Ragnar  Lodbrok  (Ragnar  Hairy-breeches)  and  his 
father,  Sigurd  Ring,  are  considered  historical  charac- 
ters of  early  days,  notwithstanding  the  impossible  ad- 
ventures that  have  crept  into  the  legends.  Ragnar's 
sons  were  even  more  famous,  and  the  whole  family 
are  among  the  most  prominent  of  the  old  vikings  of 
the  North. 


SWEDEN'S   FIRST  MISSIONARY.  315 


SWEDEN'S  FIKST   MISSIONARY. 

WE  pass  from  the  half-saga  and  more  than  half- 
heathen  period  of  rough  old  Ragnar  and  his  fierce  sons, 
to  the  dawning  of  light  in  Sweden. 

Out  of  the  dim  doubtful  mists  of  early  times  emerges 
the  real,  living  form  of  the  brave,  zealous  Christian 
bishop,  Ansgarius. 

The  civilized  nations  saw  no  help  against  the  ravages 
of  the  Northmen,  but  in  christianizing  the  remorseless 
rovers.  The  Northmen  had  heard  through  their  cap- 
tives of  the  "  White  Christ "  and  his  wonderful  teaching, 
and  longed  to  know  more  of  this  new  religion.  The 
hands  from  the  North  were  not  in  vain  stretched  out  to 
plead  that  a  Christian  teacher  might  be  sent  to  them. 
Ansgarius,  or  Ansgar,  a  Frenchman,  born  in  801,  gladly 
obeyed  the  summons.  With  a  brother  monk  he  set 
sail  for  Sweden.  They  met  the  vikings  at  sea,  instead 
of  on  land.  The  ship  and  its  cargo  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  rovers.  The  books,  gifts,  and  sacred  vessels,  pro- 
vided by  the  Emperor  Louis,  were  lost.  With  but  their 
lives  and  the  story  of  the  cross  as  their  treasure,  the 
two  strangers  came  safely  to  land. 

They  made  their  way  through  forests  and  "  great 
inland  seas  "  to  the  old  city  of  Birka,  where  the  King, 
Bear  (Bjorn),  gave  them  liberty  to  preach  in  the  name 
of  Christ.  A  church  was  built  at  Birka,  the  captives 
were  cheered  by  holy  words  of  counsel  and  comfort 
and  by  the  offices  of  their  religion,  and  many  converts 


316  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

were  made,  both  outwardly  by  baptism  and  inwardly 
by  the  power  of  the  truth.  Ansgar  was  summoned 
home  to  be  made  archbishop  of  Hamburg ;  and  when 
that  city  was  burned  by  the  vikings,  he  was  removed 
to  Bremen. 

In  853  he  visited  Sweden  again,  and  obtained  further 
privileges  and  on  firmer  ground  for  the  followers  of  the 
new  religion.  Ansgar  died  in  Bremen  in  865. 

Ansgar  was  no  rough  preacher  of  righteousness. 
His  nature  was  gentle,  and  the  tears  readily  filled  his 
eyes,  but  he  could,  on  occasion,  be  as  brave  as  a  lion. 
His  own  body  he  kept  under  by  harsh  garments  and 
poor  and  scant  fare,  but  for  the  needy  he  had  a  liberal 
hand,  and  in  him  captives  often  found  a  friend  to  pay 
their  ransom. 

A  thousand  years  have  rolled  by,  and  Birka  is  one 
of  the  lost  cities  of  the  world ;  but  the  name  of  Aus- 
garius  is  held  in  reverent  and  tender  memory  among 
the  people,  to  whom  he  was  the  first  to  preach  the 
religion  of  love. 

Other  evangelists  came  in  time  from  various  quar- 
ters, and  the  place  is  still  shown  where  the  English 
Saint  Sigfrid  baptized  Olof  (Skotkonung),  who  was  one 
of  the  "braves"  in  the  great  sea-fight  at  Svolder,  a 
noted  battle  of  primitive  Sweden.  Kings  were  not  all- 
powerful  in  those  days,  and  needed  any  amount  of 
patience  and  meekness.  This  Olof  once  ventured  to 
be  wilful  in  a  great  council  (1018),  when  the  law  man, 
a  mighty  man  on  the  occasion,  said :  "  If  you  don't  do 
as  we  say,  it  may  happen  that  we  fall  on  you  and  kill 
you.  We  don't  bear  any  quarrelling  and  disturbance 
from  you.  How  did  our  forefathers  do?  They  cast 
into  a  cellar  five  kings  who  were  full  of  arrogance  just 
as  you  are  to-day.  Say  now  what  you  mean  to  do." 


SWEDEN'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY. 


317 


There  was  a  clashing  of  weapons  and  a  boisterous  shout 
from  the  multitude,  to  express  their  approval  of  the 
speech  of  their  leader;  and  the  so-called  king  must 
peacefully  promise  to  obey  the  expressed  wish  of  his 
people. 


SWEDEN'S  FIRST  MONEY 
(issued  in  the  time  of  Olof  Skotkonung). 


318  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


THE   ROYAL   SAINT. 

IF  Eve  could  be  called  "  the  fairest  of  her  daughters," 
Erik  IX.  may  be  said  to  be  the  best  of  his  royal  prede- 
cessors of  the  name.  This  is  Saint  Erik,  who,  though  he 
was  honored  by  no  papal  canonization,  was  by  his  own 
people  sainted,  both  living  and  dead,  —  a  good  Catholic 
and  a  good  Christian,  according  to  his  light.  He  was  no 
king  to  "  fare  sumptuously  and  wear  fine  linen  "  (rather 
something  far  rougher  next  to  his  person),  but  was 
rigid  and  cleanly  in  his  daily  regime,  taking  his  plunge, 
summer  or  winter,  —  whether  through  ice  or  bright 
ripples  it  was  all  the  same  to  him. 

As  a  lawgiver,  Saint  Erik  was  a  pattern  king.  He 
"gaed  his  ain  gait"  round  his  dominions,  to  find  out  the 
real  condition  of  his  people,  and  to  still  feuds  and  ad- 
minister justice  in  the  fear  of  God  rather  than  man.  A 
royal  progress  so  came  to  have  the  name  of  an  Eriks- 
gata,  or  Eriksway,  all  down  the  centuries.  In  the  old 
heathen  code  of  laws  he  cut  out  a  bit  here  and  made 
an  amendment  there,  and,  being  a  woman's-rights  man, 
he  ordained  that  the  sexes  should  be  equally  protected 
by  legal  authority.  A  wife  should  be  "honored  as 
mistress  of  the  house,  and  have  full  right  over  lock 
and  bar,  and  her  fair  third  in  all  movable  goods  and 
acquired  real  estate,  as  upland  law  and  holy  King  Erik 
provided." 

Not  satisfied  with  being  a  good  king  at  home,  he 
must  fight  for  the  holy  cross.  He  had  the  heathen 
close  at  hand.  Some  idol  temples  in  Finland  had  been 


THE   ROYAL  SAINT.  319 

changed  to  Christian  churches,  but  there  was  little 
zeal  for  Christian  faith  and  practice  among  the  Finns 
or  the  few  Swedish  settlers.  With  zealous  Bishop 
Henrik,  an  Englishman,  to  wield  the  spiritual  weapons, 
and  a  well-armed  force  to  thrust  them  home,  Erik 
landed  in  Finland.  The  Finns  were  at  first  obdurate ; 
but  when  the  question  was  reduced  to  baptism  or  cer- 
tain death,  they  submitted,  and  the  Swedish  King  re- 
turned home,  having,  as  he  believed,  added  many  souls 
to  Christendom,  and  a  fair  bit  of  Finland  to  the  crown 
possessions.  Bishop  Henrik,  who  was  left  in  his  new 
diocese,  ventured  to  fine  one  of  the  Finnish  extempore 
Christians  for  committing  murder  after  his  conversion. 
In  revenge,  the  offender  was  not  satisfied  with  waylay- 
ing and  killing  the  bishop,  but  cut  off  his  fingers,  in- 
cluding the  thumb,  to  get  at  the  rings  with  which  they 
were  adorned.  The  thumb  of  the  martyred  bishop 
may  still  be  seen  in  wax,  in  the  episcopal  seal  of  Abo 
Finland. 

As  for  Saint  Erik,  he  too  met  a  violent  death.  While 
he  was  devoutly  hearing  Mass,  there  was  the  cry  that 
the  Danes  were  upon  him,  "almost  at  the  doors  of  the 
church."  The  royal  worshipper  calmly  remained  where 
he  was  to  the  conclusion  of  the  Mass,  and  then  saying, 
"  The  rest  of  the  service  I  may,  perhaps,  hear  in  a  more 
glorious  place,"  he  went  bravely  to  meet  the  enemy. 
He  was  overpowered  by  numbers,  taken  alive,  and 
beheaded  on  the  spot. 

The  well-known  head  of  Saint  Erik  now  appears  in 
the  coat  of  arms  of  the  city  of  Stockholm,  his  remains 
are  honored  in  their  silver  casket  in  Upsala  Cathedral, 
and  his  memory  is  sainted  in  the  heart  of  every  true 
Swede. 


320  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LITE. 


AN  UNCROWNED   KING. 

BIRGER  JARL. 

A  MAN  may  be  in  point  of  fact  a  king,  without  crown 
or  throne  or  royal  title,  if  he  but  bear  an  invisible 
sceptre,  and  bear  it  well.  Such  a  man  was  Birger  Jarl 
(or  Carl) ;  a  mighty  man,  living  on  his  own  fine  estate, 
and  the  foremost  citizen  in  all  the  North.  Birger  had 
married  a  sister  of  the  reigning  king,  one  of  the  Eriks, 
and  had  so  strengthened  his  own  power  and  influence. 

At  this  time  certain  Finns  had  risen  up  against 
Christian  control,  put  out  the  eyes  of  such  priests  as 
they  could  lay  hands  on,  murdered  baptized  children, 
and  perpetrated  other  similar  horrors.  Birger  promptly 
led  a  strong  body  of  Swedes  to  Finland,  to  put  an  end 
to  these  outrages.  While  he  was  absent  the  King  died, 
and  Birger's  young  son  was  hailed  as  his  successor,  — 
"a  child,"  as  Birger  angrily  said,  on  his  hasty  return, 
"  not  yet  able  to  rule  himself,  and  much  less  a  king- 
dom." Birger,  however,  proved  really  the  ruler,  and  a 
wise  one  too. 

Travelling  in  Sweden  in  those  days,  even  for  short 
trips,  must  have  been  a  doubtful  sort  of  pleasure,  as 
one  can  judge  from  Birger  Jarl's  "peace  statutes," 
which  were  so  heartily  welcomed,  and  have  ever  been 
gratefully  remembered.  He  ordained  that  there  should 
be  "  peace  for  woman,  home  peace,  peace  for  the  church- 
goer, and  peace  for  the  lawgiver,  on  his  way  to  the  place 
of  legislation."  As  to  "  peace  "  for  the  travelling  public 


AN   UNCROWNED  KING.  321 

at  large,  that  could  not  as  yet  be  thought  of ;  every 
man  had  his  sword  or  his  club,  it  was  supposed,  and 
could  fight  his  own  battles. 

The  Swedish  women  had  not  hitherto  been  carried 
off  wholesale,  like  their  Sabine  sisters,  but  some  bashful 
suitor  better  at  using  his  trusty  blade  than  his  tongue, 
or  some  outraged  Lochinvar,  might  often  attack  the 
strongly  equipped  wedding-party  and  carry  off  the  bride 
by  force  of  arms.  Birger  Jarl's  law  for  the  protection 
of  women  put  an  end  to  such  summary  wooing. 

A  man's  house  was  to  be  sacred,  —  his  law-protected 
castle,  —  for  he  was  not  to  be  molested  within  his  own 
gates.  A  man  on  the  way  to  the  house  of  prayer,  what- 
ever had  been  his  offences,  was  not  to  be  waylaid  by 
the  avenger.  As  the  king's  person  was  sacred,  so  must 
be  that  of  the  citizen,  who,  when  on  his  way  to  the 
ting,  represented  the  majesty  of  law. 

Up  to  the  time  of  Birger  a  daughter  of  a  noble  house 
had  no  share  in  the  family  inheritance ;  the  last  of  the 
Jarls  made  her  claim  equal  to  that  of  her  brothers.  A 
poor  man  was  no  longer  to  sell  his  future  services,  for 
the  pledge  of  bed  and  board,  for  life. 

The  law,  not  the  "  avenger  of  blood,"  was  to  punish 
offenders.  The  accused  were  no  longer  to  prove  their 
innocence  by  walking  on  hot  iron,  or  like  superstitious 
tests.  To  secure  the  church  service  against  being  inter- 
rupted by  brawls,  arms  were  to  be  left  in  the  vestibule 
of  the  sacred  edifice ;  and  often  in  Sweden  the  entrance- 
way  to  the  church  is  called  a  weapon-house  to  this  day 
(vapenhus). 

Birger  Jarl  saw  the  importance  of  the  position  of 
the  islands  where  Stockholm  now  stands.  He  strength- 

o 

ened  the  town  then  beginning,  and,  it  is  said,  erected  a 
strong  tower  on  the  site  of  the  present  royal  palace- 

21 


322  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

His  imposing  statue  rises  majestically  in  the  midst  of 
the  great  city,  which  he  foresaw  would  be  thetapital 
of  Sweden.  He  stands  full  armed  on  his  column,  apart 
from  men,  a  new  kind  of  St.  Simeon  Stylites, — no  ancho- 
rite, but  the  imposing  image  of  a  human-hearted  man, 
looked  up  to  as  a  wise  statesman  and  the  real  founder 
of  "  Birger  Jarl's  city,"  beautiful  Stockholm. 

Far  from  this  solitary  watcher,  there  is  now  in  his 
city  a  breaking  up  and  a  pulling  down,  where  a  mag- 
nificent street  is  to  pass,  broad  enough  for  fifty  kings 
to  ride  abreast  if  ever  a  congress  of  rulers  were  to  meet 
in  the  North  to  confer  on  the  best  good  of  the  people 
of  the  world.  This  great  thoroughfare  is  to  be  called 
Birger  Jarl's  gata  (Birger  Jarl's  way),  a  proper  memo- 
rial of  the  uncrowned  king.  Birger  Jarl  died  in  1266. 


MAGNUS  LOCK-THE-BARN.  323 


MAGNUS  LOCK-THE-BARK 

WHEN  the  strong  tree  fell,  there  was  a  crashing  and 
a  clashing  among  the  branches.  The  sons  of  great 
Birger  Jarl  could  not  live  in  peace.  The  Queen  was 
pleased  to  call  her  dark-haired,  brown-skinned  royal 
brother-in-law,  Duke  Magnus,  "that  tinker."  That 
tinker  came  in  due  time,  or  undue  time,  to  the  throne ; 
for  he  ousted  the  weak  King,  and  put  him  into  mild 
imprisonment  for  breach  of  the  laws  of  God  and  man. 

Magnus,  like  his  father,  had  a  taste  for  law-making. 
The  hospitality  of  the  Swedes  has  always  been  noted, 
but  in  those  days  it  was  suffering  too  severe  a  strain. 
As  in  most  sparsely  settled  regions,  travellers  must 
often  be  sheltered  in  private  houses,  or  lie  under  the 
open  sky.  This  practice  still  continued  in  Sweden,  but 
was  made  most  offensive  by  the  remorseless  demands, 
and  the  swaggering  and  the  bullying  of  the  guests,  who 
forced  themselves  and  their  trains  on  the  unprotected 
country  people.  Such  travelling  gentry  were  hereafter 
to  pay  for  "  entertainment  of  man  and  beast,"  and  to 
behave  themselves  respectably  in  the  homes  to  which 
they  were  admitted.  The  name  Magnus  was  retained 
for  the  wise  ruler,  with  the  surname  Lock-the-barn, 
given  in  grateful  memory  of  his  protection  of  the  rights 
of  his  people. 

Magnus  had  a  taste  for  splendor  and  high  titles  and 
high-mightiness.  He  appointed  men  to  grand  offices 
with  grand  names,  and  in  his  own  way  did  his  part  to 


324 


PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


the  establishment  of  a  fixed  nobility  of  riders,  or  rid- 
dare,  the  present  house  where  the  nobles  meet  being 
called  Kiddarhuset. 


A   PEASANT   PLOUGHMAN. 

While  the  vikings  had  their  way,  fighting  by  sea 
was  naturally  their  most  favorite  pastime ;  but  time 
went  on,  and  battles  by  land  became  more  and  more 
common.  A  perpetual  army  of  mounted  horsemen  in 
armor  was  to  be  sustained,  and  Magnus  established  the 


MAGNUS  LOCK-THE-BARN.  325 

law  that  all  who  would  pledge  themselves  so  to  appear 
in  time  of  need,  to  fight  for  land  and  king,  should  be 
freemen,  and  their  estates  freed  land.  The  riders  or 
knights  had  before  appeared  in  Sweden,  and  had  been 
formally  invested  in  their  dignities  ;  but  now  the  thing 
took  form,  and  was  to  be  perpetuated. 

Magnus  locked  the  barn  for  his  peasant,  but  opened 
a  wide  portal  for  an  authorized  aristocracy  other  than 
that  of  merit  and  great  deeds. 

Magnus  Lock-the-barn  (Magnus  Ladul&s)  died  in 
1290. 


326  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


SANTA  BIRGITTA. 

THE  American  housekeeper  is  familiar  with  the 
Catholic  Bridget,  —  a  necessary  of  life,  but  sometimes 
a  necessary  evil.  The  Saint  Bridget  of  the  Swedes  was 
also  a  Catholic,  but  she  is  honored  to  this  day  by  the 
most  zealous  Lutherans  as  well  as  by  the  members  of 
her  own  church. 

Women  in  the  North  had  from  the  earlier  times 
given  evidence  of  being  made  of  strong  stuff.  The 
widowed  Queen  Sigrid,  of  the  old  days,  coolly  left  her 
troublesome  lovers  to  sit  late  over  their  cups,  and  then 
burned  the  hall  where  they  lay  helpless  after  their 
carouse.  A  better  and  a  gentler  strength  had  come  in 
with  the  better  religion. 

About  the  year  1300  a  little  girl  who  was  named 
Birgitta  was  born  in  a  noble  household.  Early  left 
motherless,  she  fell  under  the  care  of  an  aunt,  who 
whipped  her  for  getting  up  to  pray  in  the  night,  and 
forgave  her  when  she  saw  the  Virgin  Mary  assisting 
the  child  with  her  sewing,  —  so  the  story  goes.  Later, 
rumors  about  a  saintly  young  maiden  in  his  neighbor- 
hood convinced  an  aristocratic  youth  that  she,  and  she 
only,  must  be  his  wife,  and  he  took  her  early  to  his 
home.  Ulf  (Wolf)  was  his  name,  but  not  his  nature ; 
and  Birgitta  was  venerated  by  her  gentle  husband  as 
much  as  she  was  loved.  Theirs  was  a  model  household, 
where  affection,  uprightness,  and  hospitality  reigned. 
There  was  good  management  within,  and  loving  care 


SANTA  BIKGITTA.  327 

for  the  dependants  and  the  poor  without.  Four  boys 
and  four  girls  were  carefully  ruled  by  the  mother,  who 
so  ruled  herself  that  if  her  tongue  gave  offence,  she 
chastised  it  by  chewing  bitter  herbs. 

From  this  home  of  peace  and  purity  Birgitta  was 
transplanted  to  the  court,  where  deference  to  man  and 
defiance  of  God  went  hand  in  hand.  The  high-souled 
woman  was  filled  with  indignation,  and  King  and 
court-ladies  and  dashing  young  knights  had  to  hear  her 
well-deserved  words  of  open  rebuke.  The  lives  of  holy 
men  and  the  dear  words  of  the  Bible  were  at  court,  as 
ever,  Birgitta's  favorite  reading.  The  Scriptures  she 
caused  to  be  translated  into  so-called  Swedish,  —  really 
a  mixture  of  Norwegian  and  Swedish  that  obtained  in 
time  the  name  of  the  Birgittine  language. 

In  1340  Birgitta,  her  husband,  and  many  other 
Swedes  took  the  pilgrim's  hat  and  cloak  and  staff  and 
scallop  shell,  and  started  for  far  Spain  to  visit  the 
grave  of  Saint  James.  They  had  almost  as  many  perils 
by  the  way  as  Saint  Paul  himself  had  braved,  and  a 
plague  district  to  pass  through  in  addition.  In  castle 
and  convent  and  wayside  inn  the  noble  and  learned 
Lady  Birgitta  left  the  trace  of  her  pure  devotion,  and  her 
high  regard  for  practical  duties,  mingled  as  they  were 
with  the  superstitions  of  the  day.  After  their  safe 
return,  Ulf  betook  himself  to  the  convent  of  Alvastra, 
where  he  soon  passed  away. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband  Birgitta  did  not 
separate  herself  wholly  from  the  society  of  her  fellows, 
though  she  followed  personally  an  ascetic  rule  of  life 
and  devoted  herself  much  to  study,  especially  to  read- 
ing Latin  with  her  daughter.  The  society  of  the 
cultured  and  wise  was  always  to  her  a  source  of  pleas- 
ure. Birgitta's  plan  for  her  future  convent  slowly 


328  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

matured  in  her  mind.  It  should  be  a  refuge  for  human 
beings  weary  of  the  world.  The  church  should  stand  in 
the  centre,  the  nunnery  on  one  side,  and  the  monastery 
on  the  other.  In  the  church,  which  should  be  open  to 
all  worshippers,  plain  sermons  should  be  preached, 
so  worded  that  simple  folk  could  understand  them. 
Ladies  of  high  rank  should  be  there  taught  a  pure  faith 
and  a  holy  practice,  and  go  out  to  be  a  blessing  to  their 
families  and  dependants.  Books  of  spiritual  teaching 
should  be  written  or  translated  for  the  good  of  the 
people.  The  sisters  of  the  convent,  though  subject  to 
a  strict  routine  of  prayer  and  fasting  and  looking  daily 
into  an  open  grave,  should  have  the  womanly  occupa- 
tions of  sewing,  embroidery,  and  lace-making. 

Birgitta's  ideal  was  realized.  The  King  gave  the 
ground  for  Vadstena  Cloister.  Birgitta's  own  liberality 
stirred  many  rich  givers  to  imitation.  The  comfort  of 
the  nuns  was  provided  for,  and  through  passages  in 
the  walls  hot  air  was  conducted  over  the  buildings. 

Keformers  rarely  have  a  quiet  life,  and  Birgitta  did 
not  escape  her  share  of  annoyances.  In  1350  she 
journeyed  to  Rome  to  obtain  the  sanction  of  the  Pope 
for  her  convent.  She  was  accompanied  by  her  con- 
fessor and  one  of  her  sons.  Before  leaving  her  home 
Birgitta  had  divided  the  bulk  of  her  property  between 
her  children  and  the  poor.  In  Rome,  Pope  and  priest, 
King  and  subject,  who  departed  from  a  pure  practice 
were  sure  to  have  the  plain  rebuke  of  the  Northern 
saint  and  to  take  it  meekly.  The  poor,  the  outcast, 
and  the  mourner  found  in  her  a  friend ;  and  for  the 
Swedes  in  Italy  the  doors  of  her  home  were  ever  open, 
and  to  be  there  was  to  be  blessed.  For  the  Italians  in 
hospitals  and  huts,  Birgitta  was  as  a  mother.  When 
seventy  years  of  age,  she  made  with  some  of  her  chil- 


SANTA  BIRGITTA.  329 

dren  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  shortly 
afterward  passed  upward  to  the  true  Holy  City. 

All  through  her  life,  Birgitta  had  trances  and  visions. 
Nothing  new  in  doctrine  or  practice  seems  to  have 
been  revealed  to  her.  These  periods  of  exaltation  appear 
to  have  been  rather  converse  with  heaven  than  heavenly 
revelations.  Sometimes  she  heard  in  her  visions  the 
cries  of  the  people  robbed  of  their  rights ;  sometimes 


THE   ROMAN  HOSPITAL. 

she  was  reminded  there  were  lost  sinners  she  must 
seek  out  and  rescue.  Occasionally  the  communication 
took  a  more  prosaic  form,  as  when  Birgitta  asked  the 
Virgin  Mary  if  she  should  borrow  a  certain  sum  of 
money,  as  seemed  desirable  for  household  needs.  Bir- 
gitta's  own  clear  sense  of  right  probably  suggested  the 
supposed  reply  of  the  Virgin :  "  Certainly,  borrow,  my 
child,  if  you  are  sure  of  being  able  to  pay.  Otherwise 
it  is  better  to  be  in  want  than  to  make  a  promise  you 
know  you  cannot  keep." 


330  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

Santa  Birgitta  is  for  us  a  vision,  and  a  real  one,  —  an 
apparition  of  a  noble  woman,  brightened  by  the  light 
of  truth,  when  popes  and  bishops  were  fumbling 
in  darkness.  She  was  a  great  reformer  before  the 
Reformation. 

The  name  of  Birgitta  was  in  1391  inscribed  on  the 
golden  roll  of  the  saints ;  that  name  had  no  doubt  been 
long  before  written  in  the  better  Book  of  Life. 


MARGARETA'S  UNION.  331 


MARGARETA'S   UNION. 

IF  "  uneasy  rests  the  head  "  that  wears  one  crown, 
there  seemed  to  be  scant  prospect  of  peace  for  the 
princess  who  was  to  wear  three.  Margareta  of 
Denmark  was  born  in  a  prison,  but  her  life  exempli- 
fies the  favorite  saying  of  her  father,  Valdemar 
Atterdag :  "  To-morrow  will  be  another  day. "  : 

At  eleven  years  of  age  the  little  princess  was 
married  to  Hakan,  King  of  Norway,  to  whom  she  had 
been  suggested  as  a  bride  while  his  royal  mother 
danced  him  on  her  knee. 

The  young  Queen  was  not  yet  to  have  her  own  way. 
Santa  Birgitta's  daughter,  the  mistress  of  court-cere- 
monies, was  her  stern  governess,  and  sometimes  even 
used  the  rod  to  chastise  Margareta  for  her  childish 
follies.  Margareta 's  will  was  not  broken,  it  seems; 
for  she  proved  a  determined,  energetic  woman,  who 
could  drive  three  in  hand  when  three  kingdoms  were 
harnessed  together.  Reigning  Queen  of  Norway,  on 
the  death  of  her  husband,  and  of  Denmark  when  she 
lost  her  only  son,  she  was  called  to  Sweden  to  settle 
the  difficulties  there. 

The  "  high  lords  "  of  Sweden  had  built  themselves 
fortified  castles,  from  which  they  foraged  and  op- 
pressed or  fought  with  each  other,  while  the  King  from 
Mecklenburg  was  on  the  throne  of  their  country  He 

1  From  this  saying  the  Danish  King  took  his  name,  Valdemar 
Atterdag,  or  Otherday. 


332  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

was  displeased  with  them,  and  they  were  displeased 
with  him.  They  asked  a  woman  to  help  them,  and  a 
strong  woman  she  proved.  She  took  the  crown  they 
eventually  offered  her,  and  then  made  them  feel  her 
sceptre.  They  must  pull  down  their  castles,  and 
behave  themselves  like  peaceable  subjects,  now  they 
had  a  queen  to  rule  over  them. 

Margareta  was  so  charmed  with  the  plan  of  the 
Scandinavian  threefold  cord  that  she  was  resolved  it 
should  be  perpetuated;  but  though  she  had  three 
crowns  she  had  no  child.  She  persuaded  her  people 
to  call  a  great  meeting  at  Kalmar  Castle,  and  there 
enact  that  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  were 
united  forever,  and  her  sister's  son  from  Pomerania 
should  be  the  king  to  succeed  to  her  triple  crown.  So 
the  famous  Kalmar  (1397)  Union  was  founded,  —  a 
union  the  source  perhaps  of  more  discussion  and  diffi- 
culty than  even  the  most  ill-assorted  marriage  that 
the  world  ever  saw.  Before  Margareta  died,  in  1412, 
the  Crown  Prince  had  begun  to  meddle  in  the  govern- 
ment with  his  unwise  hands,  and  Margareta  saw  that 
she  had  chosen  no  suitable  man  for  her  successor. 

The  people  had  to  pay  heavy  taxes  in  Margareta 's 
reign ;  but  she  modestly  apologized  to  them  for  the 
exactions,  saying  that  "  times  were  hard,  and  indeed 
she  was  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  vex  them. "  To  the 
Church  she  had  been  a  devoted  daughter,  even  humbly 
kissing  the  hands  of  the  nuns  and  monks  of  Vadstena 
Convent,  of  which  she  had  formally  been  made  a 
kind  of  royal  sister.  As  to  her  private  life,  she  was 
blameless ;  but  her  judgment  had  erred,  at  least  in 
one  respec.t,  for  the  Kalmar  Union  was  a  lamentable 
failure. 

The  Pomeranian  did  not  care  what  became  of  the 


MARGARETA'S  UNION.  333 

Swedes,  if  only  money  could  be  wrung  out  of  them 
by  Danish  bailiffs  set  over  them.  The  bailiffs  were 
truly  efficient;  and  if  the  peasants  were  refractory, 
they  might  find  themselves,  men  and  women,  har- 
nessed to  their  ploughs,  some  fine  morning,  by  way 
of  a  punishment.  Now  there  appeared  a  sturdy  little 
man  (nobody  knows  how  trained,  or  exactly  from 
what  kind  of  a  home  he  came),  with  a  tongue  to  per- 
suade and  command,  a  wise  head,  and  a  brave  right 
arm,  ready  for  determined  service.  Engelbrekt 
Engelbrektsson  was  his  simple  name.  His  family, 
respectable  miners  in  Dalecarlia,  had  probably  never 
dreamed  of  having  a  scion  who  was  to  appear  on  the 
page  of  history.  To  the  King,  who  liked  to  stay  com- 
fortably in  Denmark,  Engelbrekt  twice  betook  him- 
self, with  loud  complaints  of  the  outrages  of  the 
Danish  oppressors  in  Sweden.  "  Begone !  "  said  the 
King  at  last  to  the  petitioner ;  "  let  me  never  see  your 
face  again!"  "You  will  see  it  once  more!"  said 
Engelbrekt,  between  his  shut  teeth,  and  departed. 

With  a  band  of  rudely  armed  Dalecarlians,  Engel- 
brekt swept  through  Sweden,  the  peasants  everywhere 
joining  him.  In  four  months  he  had  freed  the  land 
from  the  Danish  extortioners ;  yet  where  his  raw  but 
disciplined  troops  had  passed,  it  was  said  "  not  a 
cottager  complained  of  so  much  as  the  loss  of  a  single 
chicken. " 

A  new  kind  of  a  Riksdag  met  at  Arbtoga.  Nobles 
and  priests  and  peasants  and  burghers  were  its  four 
classes  of  representatives.  The  authority  of  the 
nobility  and  the  clergy,  as  the  only  legislators,  was 
forever  done  away  with  in  Sweden.  Engelbrekt  was 
first  chosen  chief  ruler,  and  then  a  rich  noble 
was  appointed  to  hold  the  reins  with  the  brave 


334  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

miner.  Death  dissolved  this  form  of  government 
in  1436.  Engelbrekt,  while  on  a  journey,  was 
standing  on  the  shore  of  an  island  in  a  lake,  weak 
from  recent  illness,  and  leaning  on  his  crutch,  when 
he  was  set  upon  by  the  son  of  an  enemy,  who  sprang 
from  a  boat,  dashed  down  the  deliverer  with  an  axe, 
and  left  him  pierced  with  arrows,  dead  on  the 
ground.  Weeping  peasants  bore  the  patriot  to  his 
grave,  and  History  wrote  his  name  high  on  her  roll  of 
honor. 

Swedes  and  Danes  —  kings  by  name,  or  kings  in 
authority  but  not  in  name  —  succeeded  each  other, 
like  the  prominent  player  in  blind-man 's-bluff  or  a 
child's  game  of  "  catch."  Sometimes  the  same  ruler 
was  exalted  once,  sometimes  twice,  sometimes  thrice ; 
and  so  the  changes  and  the  rebellions  and  the  con- 
fusion went  on  for  more  than  eighty  years.  Two  Sten 
Stures,  at  the  close  of  the  period,  were  among  the 
most  prominent  of  these  rulers,  and  gave  a  promise 
of  the  strong  Swedish  kings  who  were  coming.  Sten 
Sture  the  Elder  was  in  a  hot  battle  with  the  Danes, 
where  Brunkeberg  Square  now  seems  almost  the 
centre  of  Stockholm.  Blood  flowed  in  torrents,  and 
dead  bodies  were  heaped  high  on  the  then  wooded 
heights.  Saint  George,  mounted  and  in  full  armor, 
appeared  to  help  the  Swedes,  and  take  out  his  old 
British  grudge  against  the  "  ravaging  Danes. " 

Sten  Sture  the  Younger,  carried  wounded  from  a 
later  battle  with  the  same  traditional  enemy,  died  in 
a  sleigh,  as  he  was  borne  over  the  strong  ice  in  Lake 
Malar.  His  wife,  a  brave  Swedish  woman  of  rank, 
kept  Stockholm  Castle  until  the  deceitful  proposals 
of  the  enemy  induced  her  to  yield. 


VI. 

ROYAL  REFORMERS  AND    SONS   OF 
GLORY. 


SVEA'S   CHILDREN   OF  THE  PAST. 


THE  FATHER  OF  HIS  COUN- 
TRY. 

NOT  A  WISE  SON. 
A  STERN  BROTHER. 
THE  RECREANT  GRANDSON. 
A  STRONG  HAND. 


SVEA'S  DEAREST  SON. 
GUSTAF    ADOLF'S    DAUGH- 
TER. 

A  BOLD  EXPLOIT. 
THE  PRACTICAL  MAN. 
A  MILITARY  GENIUS. 


THE  FATHEK  OF  HIS  COUNTRY. 

GUSTAF  VASA  (1521-1560). 


"  'T^HERE  will  be  a  man  of  thee,  in  thy  day,  if  thou 
•*-  shouldst  live,  "  said  one  of  the  Danish  kings, 
as  he  patted  the  little  Gustaf  Vasa  on  the  head.  The 
prophecy  proved  a  true  one  ;  but  the  subject  of  it  did 
not  become  such  a  man  as  the  Danes  have  reason 
to  remember  with  pleasure. 

The  boy  was  sent  to  learn  manners  and  the  arts  of 
society,  not  to  a  dancing-school,  but  to  the  courts 
of  the  Stures,  and  did  not  waste  his  opportunities. 
Later,  at  Sten  Sture  the  Elder's  new  University  at 
Upsala,  Gustaf  was  better  known  as  the  attractive 
young  Vasa  "  in  his  red  English  coat"  than  as  a 
quiet  scholar.  The  Vasas  had  for  generations  been 
handsome,  stalwart,  fair-haired,  blue-eyed  men,  and 
their  most  illustrious  specimen  was  after  the  same 
pattern.  The  family  cognizance  was  a  sheaf  fully 
ripe  ;  and  now  the  race  had  brought  forth  its  best 
fruit,  but  no  one  knew  for  what  it  was  ripening. 

Gustaf  Vasa  liked  men  better  than  books.  Listen- 
ing to  the  statesmen  that  Sten  Sture  the  Younger 
gathered  about  him,  Gustaf  Vasa  drank  in  their  spirit 
of  patriotism  and  their  abhorrence  of  the  Danish 
yoke.  The  King  in  Denmark  at  the  time  was  a 
certain  Christian  II.  ;  but  certainly  there  was  never  a 
man  bearing  the  name  of  "  Christian"  who  deserved 

22 


338  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

it  less.  A  bloodthirsty  creature  by  nature,  he  took 
no  pains  to  curb  his  malignity.  He  soon  understood 
that  the  young  Vasa  might  be  a  mutinous  subject, 
and  had  him  carried  ofi'  to  a  Danish  prison.  The 
prisoner  learned  only  too  well  how  matters  were 
going  on  at  home,  and  finally  made  his  escape,  and 
landed  in  Sweden,  with  only  his  courage  and  his 
sword  to  rely  upon.  The  news  soon  reached  him  that 
Christian  II.  had,  after  a  sham  trial,  treacherously 
put  to  death  eighty-two  of  the  most  prominent  men 
of  Sweden,  —  nobles,  clergymen,  and  burghers,  —  and 
among  them  his  own  father.  The  very  streets  of  the 
capital  had  been  running  red  from  the  massacre, 
which  well  deserved  the  name,  Stockholm's  "  Blood- 
bath," which  it  bears  in  Swedish  history,  and 
Christian  II.  became  forever  known  as  Christian  the 
Tyrant. 

Gustaf  Vasa  hastened  to  Dalecarlia  to  rouse  the 
brave  patriots  there.  No  one  would  believe  his  story 
of  the  massacre,  or  volunteer  to  enlist  under  his 
banner.  The  Danes  set  a  price  on  his  head.  His 
escapes  were  marvellous.  Now  he  journeyed,  hidden 
in  a  load  of  hay,  safe  though  wounded  in  his  conceal- 
ment by  the  inquiring  spears  of  the  enemy.  Now  he 
was  let  down  from  a  window  at  Ornas  by  his  friendly 
hostess,  and  now  he  was  thrust  into  a  cellar,  and  the 
trap-door  promptly  covered  by  a  tub  of  ale. 

Unable  to  rouse  his  countrymen,  the  discouraged 
patriot  was  hopelessly  leaving  his  native  land,  when 
there  was  a  cry  in  the  distance  of  "  Gustaf  Ericsson ! 
Gustaf  Ericsson!"  Two  men  on  swift  skidor  had 
been  sent  after  him  to  the  borders  of  Norway  to  sum- 
mon him  back  to  Dalecarlia,  to  be  the  leader  and 
deliverer  of  his  people. 


THE   FATHER   OF   HIS   COUNTRY,  339 

Gustaf  Vasa  was  no  rash,  ambitious  rebel.  He 
trained  his  raw  troops,  and  improved  their  weapons 
before  he  led  them  on  to  victory.  Stronghold  after 
stronghold  was  assailed  and  taken.  In  1521  Gustaf 
Vasa  was  made  ruler  of  his  country ;  and  two  years 
later,  the  Eiksdag  unanimously  elected  him  King  of 
Sweden.  The  Danes  yielded  up  Stockholm  at  last, 
and  into  his  future  capital  Gustaf  I.  made  his  tri- 
umphal entry  on  Midsummer  Eve,  1523. 

There  was  still  another  victory  to  be  gained.  The 
Reformation  was  to  be  established  in  Sweden.  This 
was  summarily  managed.  The  treasures  that  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  Mother  Church  were  to  be 
handed  over  to  Mother  Svea,  to  dispose  of  as  she 
should  see  proper.  Ceremonies  and  vestments  were 
no  longer  to  be  matters  of  importance.  The  plain 
truths  of  Scripture  were  to  be  preached  to  the  people, 
and  the  Bible  translated  for  circulation  among  all 
who  could  or  would  read  the  Holy  Book.  Olavus  and 
Laurentius  Petri,  two  sons  of  a  smith,  educated, 
strong,  clear-headed,  and  wise  of  heart,  gave  their 
help  for  preaching  and  translating  and  giving  an 
example  of  Christian  living.  The  King  declared  that 
it  was  no  new  religion  he  was  introducing,  but  the 
religion  of  the  Bible  and  the  Apostles,  purified  from 
the  heresies  and  evil  practices  of  the  Romish  Church. 
Of  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformers,  he  said,  "  I  will 
hold  to  it  as  long  as  my  heart  is  sound,  and  my  blood 
is  warm. " 

This  was  not  all  done  without  many  a  struggle. 
At  the  Vesteras  Riksdag,  where  the  clergy,  headed  by 
Bishop  Brask,  were  unmanageable,  the  nobles  joining 
with  them,  the  King  became  so  enraged  that  he  poured 
out  a  torrent  of  angry  eloquence.  "  You  will  all  sit 


340  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

in  judgment  on  me,  and  be  my  masters,  —  you,  who 
have  chosen  me  to  be  your  king!  I  renounce  the 
crown!"  he  said;  and  much  more  in  the  same  vein. 
Bursting  into  tears,  as  he  concluded,  the  King  left  the 
hall,  followed  by  his  friends  and  his  dragoons.  For 
two  days  there  was  much  angry  discussion,  but  no 
king  in  Sweden.  At  last  Gustaf  was  urged  most 
humbly  to  resume  the  crown,  which  he  condescended 
to  do  on  condition  that  the  revenues  of  the  Church 
should  legally  fall  to  the  crown,  the  pure,  unfalsified 
word  of  God  be  preached,  and  the  Swedish  clergy 
consent  to  obey  the  Swedish  King  instead  of  the 
Pope  at  Borne.  The  cloisters  were  broken  up,  Bishop 
Brask  betook  himself  to  foreign  parts,  and  Laurentius 
Petri  was  made  the  first  Protestant  archbishop. 

Gustaf  Vasa  had  other  than  spiritual  difficulties  in 
his  kingdom.  The  Dalecarlians  were  spoiled  with  the 
prominence  and  success  that  their  bravery  had  won 
for  them.  They  found  it  hard  to  obey,  as  a  king,  the 
wanderer  they  had  helped  to  put  on  the  throne. 

Gustaf  Vasa  felt  himself  forced  to  appear  among 
them  again  and  again,  with  the  strong  arm,  to  execute 
ringleaders  among  the  rebels  and  make  the  survivors 
humbly  acknowledge  their  errors,  en  masse,  on  their 
knees.  "  If  there  are  any  more  such  doings,"  said  the 
impetuous  King,  "  I  will  so  desolate  your  land  that  not 
dog  or  cock  shall  lift  its  voice  to  show  that  it  was  ever 
inhabited." 

The  children  of  such  a  king  were  not  to  be  merely 
"  the  Vasa  boys ; "  they  must  be  hereditary  princes, 
with  an  indisputable  right  to  the  crown,  in  the  order 
of  their  birth.  This  law  of  succession  was  established, 
and  there  was  to  be  no  more  choosing  of  kings  in 
Sweden. 


THE   FATHER  OF  HIS   COUNTRY.  341 

The  thrifty  Gustaf  I.  had  a  princely  private  fortune 
to  leave  his  heirs,  a  well-ordered  army  and  navy  for 
them  to  command,  and  for  the  first  time  the  blue  and 
yellow  flag  as  the  banner  of  Sweden. 

Gustaf  Vasa  had  three  wives  in  succession :  first  a 
contrary  and  capricious  one,  Katarina  of  Saxon-Lauen- 
burg;  at  her  death  a  Swedish  noble  lady,  domestic, 
simple,  submissive  Margareta  Lejonhufvud,  who  looked 
after  her  dairy,  her  twenty  cows,  and  knew  the  state  of 
the  royal  larder ;  and  finally,  in  his  old  age,  the  young 
Katarina  Stenbock,  who  long  survived  him.  He  seems 
to  have  been  a  kind  and  faithful  husband  to  them  all, 
and  to  have  kept  them  in  proper  subjection  to  his  royal 
will.  He  was  a  man  who  commanded  obedience  by 
what  he  was  as  well  as  by  his  dignified  bearing  and 
fiery  determined  eyes. 

Strange  to  say,  the  year  of  Gustaf  Vasa's  birth  is 
only  approximately  ascertained.  When  he  was-  past 
sixty  years  of  age  and  in  failing  health,  he  summoned 
the  Eiksdag  and  high  dignitaries  of  the  kingdom  to  a 
solemn  assembly.  Eoyally  clad,  and  with  his  sons 
about  him,  he  bade  them  all  farewell.  "  He  needed 
no  reading  of  the  stars  to  tell  him  his  end  was  ap- 
proaching. As  David  was  taken  from  the  sheepfolds, 
he,  a  lone  wanderer,  had  been  set  on  the  throne."  He 
bade  his  "  dear  good  Swedish  men  "  forgive  his  short- 
comings, but  seemed  to  have  still  a  comfortable  sense 
of  his  own  merits,  as  he  said,  "Many  have  thought  me 
a  hard  king,  but  the  time  will  come  when  they  will 
be  glad  if  possible  to  snatch  me  up  out  of  my  grave 
to  rule  over  them."  The  King's  will  was  read  and 
pronounced  valid;  then  he  thanked  all  present,  and 
bade  them  an  affectionate  farewell,  and  with  tears 
in  his  eyes  left  the  deeply  moved  assembly.  He 


342  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

was  soon  laid  on  the  sick-bed,  and  died  in  Septem- 
ber, 1560. 

Gustaf  Vasa  is  interred  in  the  Cathedral  at  Upsala. 

He  was  indeed  the  Father  of  his  Country.  He 
lifted  Sweden  from  her  abasement,  and  gave  her  an 
individual  and  honored  place  among  the  nations. 


NOT  A  WISE  SON.  343 


NOT   A  WISE   SON. 

EEIK  XIV.  (1560-1568). 

ERIK  XIV.  was  disgraced  and  finally  ruined  by  the 
one  man  in  his  kingdom  whom  he  could  not  control, 
—  that  passion-tossed  man  himself.  "Gifts  are  not 
graces."  Gifts  the  unfortunate  King  had  in  abundance. 
He  was  imposing  and  attractive  in  personal  appearance, 
a  cultivated  polished  gentleman,  a  fine  linguist,  no 
mean  poet  or  musician,  a  lover  of  study,  especially  of 
astronomy,  and  a  dabbler  in  astrology.  Fond  of  beauty 
and  magnificence,  he  was  resolved  that  his  coronation 
should  be  unprecedentedly  glorious.  Mere  nobles  were 
not  grand  enough  for  the  occasion.  They  must  be 
made  coronetted  counts  and  barons,  and  have  their 
privileges  augmented  and  established.  The  means 
were  not  lacking  for  all  the  splendor  that  could  be 
desired.  Erik  had  the  treasures  accumulated  by  his 
thrifty  father  to  draw  upon,  and  he  drew  on  them 
without  stint.  That  coronation  was  a  magnificent 
success. 

This  crowned  King  must  have  a  wife  to  befit  his  high 
position.  His  wooings  were  many,  both  before  and  after 
his  accession  to  the  throne.  He  made  his  royal  ad- 
vances to  Elizabeth  of  England,  and  Mary  of  Scotland, 
and  who  knows  how  many  German  princesses,  and 
finally  married  a  simple  girl,  a  corporal's  daughter,  who 
ought  to  have  been  his  wife  long  before.  Humble  Karin 
Mansdotter's  womanly  unselfish  devotion  to  her  erring 


344  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

husband  in  his  disgrace,  his  misfortune,  and  his  im- 
prisonment, won  the  respect  of  the  Swedish  people, 
among  whose  queens  she  takes  her  place  in  history. 

Erik,  who  had  begun  his  reign  with  some  show  of 
wisdom  and  good  will,  soon  gave  evidence  of  his  change- 
able, suspicious,  unreliable  character.  The  excuse  is 
offered  that  he  inherited  his  mother's  peculiarities,  but 
with  such  a  father  he  ought  to  have  been  a  better 
man. 

Goran  Persson  —  a  quick-witted,  well-read,  bad  son 
of  a  parson  —  gained  full  influence  over  the  unstable 
King,  and  encouraged  his  worst  faults. 

The  Swedish  victories  at  sea  over  the  Danes  have 
failed  to  cast  glory  over  this  short  miserable  reign, 
though  the  names  of  the  brave  commanders  are  bright 
on  the  roles  of  fame. 

The  suspiciousness  of  the  King  increased.  He  was 
haunted  by  visions  of  spies  and  traitors  and  regicides. 
Astrology  had  told  him  his  worst  enemies  would  be 
fair-haired.  His  blond  subjects  were  carefully  watched. 
His  brother  Johan,  with  whom  he  had  quarrelled 
from  childhood,  had  before  been  imprisoned.  Now  the 
Sture  family  and  other  nobles  were  the  objects  of  a 
malignant  enmity  on  the  part  of  the  King.  They  were 
shut  up  in  Upsala  Castle.  Into  their  place  of  confine- 
ment the  King  burst,  in  a  fit  of  rage,  half  hate  and  half 
madness,  and  thrust  his  dagger  into  one  of  the  Stures, 
who  was  then  despatched  by  the  King's  followers. 
Erik  fled  to  the  country.  His  old  teacher,  who  came 
out  to  seek  him,  was  killed  on  the  spot ;  and  the  order 
was  given  that  the  prisoner  in  Upsala  Castle  should 
be  at  once  put  to  death.  It  was  done.  Two  days 
afterwards  the  King  was  found  straying  about,  dressed 
as  a  peasant,  and  wandering  in  mind.  Again  in  full 


NOT  A  WISE   SON. 


345 


possession  of  his  senses,  Erik  began  anew  his  evil 
course.  There  was  at  last  a  rebellion  against  him, 
headed  by  his  brother  Johan.  The  hated  favorite  and 
adviser  of  the  King  was  cruelly  executed,  and  Erik 
gave  himself  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  He  was 
dethroned  and  imprisoned ;  and  Johan,  his  brother,  was 
proclaimed  King.  Erik  was  moved  from  castle  to 


MARKET    SCENE    IN   TIME    OF    ERIK   XIV. 


castle,  now  kindly  and  now  roughly  treated,  and  died 
at  last,  after  being  nine  years  a  captive. 

The  Eiksdag  had  ordained  that  if  Erik  co'nspired  to 
regain  his  throne,  he  should  be  secretly  put  to  death  ; 
and  there  are  dark  suspicions  that  on  a  rumor  of  such 
an  attempt  being  on  foot,  he  was  privately  poisoned. 

His  only  son  was  a  reckless,  despised  wanderer,  who 
yet  honorably  refused  to  have  his  name  or  his  claim 
used  to  create  disturbance  in  his  native  land. 


346  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

So  ended  the  first  reign  under  the  new  law  of 
succession. 

Karin  Mansdotter  long  lived  peaceably  on  her  estate 
in  Finland,  and  her  monument  stands  there  in  Abo 
Cathedral. 

Strange  to  say,  the  Swedish  Psalm-Book  for  public 
worship  contains  two  hymns  by  Erik  XIV.,  written 
during  his  imprisonment.  They  breathe  a  spirit  of 
perfect  abasement,  some  murmurs  of  true  penitence, 
and  a  faint  hope  of  a  heavenly  inheritance. 


A  STERN  BROTHEE.  347 


A  STERN   BROTHER. 

JOHAN  III.  (1668-1592). 

IN  the  land  of  Thor  a  hammer  was  hardly  consid- 
ered of  old  a  plebeian  and  disgracefully  brutal  weapon. 
Johaii  III.  did  not  hesitate  to  carry,  when  it  pleased 
him,  a  hammer  in  his  hand,  and  used  it,  too,  when  his 
temper  was  up.  He  could  be  a  rough  Thunderer,  but 
he  was  at  the  bottom  timid,  crafty,  and  changeable. 
Though  hasty  and  imperious  to  those  far  below  him, 
he  was  conciliating  and  even  cringing  towards  the 
nobles,  who  had  helped  to  place  him  on  the  throne. 
He  granted  them  many  so-called  privileges.  Counts 
and  barons  could  be  condemned  to  death  only  by  their 
peers.  Their  lands  were  increased,  and  were  to  pass  to 
their  children  in  the  order  of  birth.  They  were  en- 
titled to  sit  as  judges  over  their  dependants,  for  whom 
there  was  no  court  of  appeal. 

Though  obstinate  against  the  members  of  his  counsel, 
Johan  easily  fell  under  the  influence  of  irresponsible 
favorites,  and  his  wife,  for  the  time  being,  was  his  chief 
adviser.  He  was  first  married  to  Katarina  Jagellonica, 
sister  to  the  King  of  Poland.  She  was  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic. Katarina  shared  her  husband's  imprisonment,  in 
the  time  of  Erik  XIV.,  and  there  seems  to  have  been 
real  affection  between  the  royal  pair. 

Johan  was  a  gifted  and  learned  man,  and  especially 
interested  in  theological  matters.  He  prepared  him- 
self a  book  for  public  services,  to  which  he  gave  the 


348  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

title  of  "Liturgia;"  but  the  people,  who  would  not 
accept  it,  called  it  "  The  Red  Book,"  which  name  it  still 
retains.  It  was  a  kind  of  compromise  between  Catho- 
lic and  Protestant  notions,  and  was  expected  to  please 
both  parties.  In  the  end  it  pleased  nobody  but  the 
disappointed  author,  who  never  lost  confidence  in  this 
work  of  his  truly  skilful  pen.  Even  the  royal  power 
could  not  force  the  lied  Book  upon  the  ^  nation,  though 


JOHAN   III. 


the  priests  who  refused  to  use  it  were  severely  dealt 
with,  sometimes  even  to  degradation  from  the  clerical 
office. 

Katarina  died;  and  Johan  married  a  young  Swede, 
a  blameless  girl,  of  a  noble  family.  She  was  not  at 
first  favorable  to  her  crowned  suitor,  upon  which  he 
struck  her  in  the  face  with  his  glove.  After  this  royal 
courtesy  her  parents  persuaded  or  forced  the  damsel 
to  become  a  queen. 


A  STEKN  BROTHER.  349 

With  the  taking  of  a  Protestant  wife,  Johan's  zeal 
for  the  Eoman  Church  declined. 

There  was  during  his  reign,  of  course,  trouble  with 
Kussia  and  Denmark,  and  poor  Gotland  changed 
hands.  In  these  struggles,  and  when  poor  harvests 
came,  and  a  depreciation  of  the  currency,  and  quarrels 
with  the  nobles,  Johan  went  to  his  brother  Duke  Karl 
for  advice ;  and  good  advice  he  always  got. 

Years  passed  by,  and  Johan  grew  more  and  more 
irritable  and  melancholy  and  suspicious.  His  Liturgy 
had  no  friend  but  himself;  his  son  Sigismund,  now 
King  of  Poland,  was  mismanaging  there,  and  in  Sweden 
it  was  really  his  superior  brother,  Duke  Karl,  who 
governed  instead  of  himself. 

In  1592  Johan  sickened  and  died.  On  his  death-bed 
he  set  at  liberty  some  nobles  he  had  unjustly  impri- 
soned, but  he  could  not  free  his  kingdom  from  the 
many  difficulties  which  had  crowded  upon  it  during 
his  unfortunate  reign. 


350  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


THE   RECREANT   GRANDSON. 

SIGISMUND  (1592-1599). 

THE  reign  of  Sigismund,  the  Roman  Catholic  King,  is 
chiefly  remarkable  for  the  full  and  legal  and  final  es- 
tablishment of  Protestantism  in  Sweden.  Sigismund, 
the  son  of  Katarina  Jagellonica,  had  been  educated 
in  his  mother's  native  land  as  the  probable  heir  to  its 
throne. 

When  Johan  died,  Duke  Karl  took  public  matters 
at  once  into  his  hands,  until  Sigismund  could  be  sum- 
moned home.  The  Regent  made  good  use  of  his 
time.  He  promptly  called,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Council,  a  great  meeting  at  Upsala,  in  March,  1593, 
where  it  was  authoritatively  established  that  "  the 
Holy  Scriptures  are  the  right  guide  for  the  faith 
of  man."  For  the  expression  of  the  belief  of  the 
Swedish  Church,  the  Augsburg  Lutheran  Confession 
was  adopted.  When  this  step  had  been  taken  in  the 
great  meeting,  the  members  rose  in  a  body  and  cried 
out  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Now  Sweden  has  become  as  one 
man,  and  we  all  have  one  God !" 

The  Roman  Catholic  King,  still  in  Poland,  refused  his 
sanction  to  the  creed  adopted  by  his  Swedish  subjects. 
In  the  autumn  he  appeared  in  person,  accompanied  by 
Anna,  his  Austrian  wife,  and  by  Roman  Catholics  and 
Poles  and  even  a  papal  nuncio.  So  supported,  he  again 
and  again  most  decidedly  refused  to  indorse  the  steps 
taken  at  Upsala.  Poles  and  Swedes  fought  in  the 


THE  RECREANT  GRANDSON. 


351 


streets,  and  even  quarrelled  and  railed  and  skirmished 
in  the  sacred  edifices. 

The  next  year  Sigismund  went  to  Upsala  with  the 
double  purpose  of  celebrating  the  solemn  funeral  obse- 
quies of  his  father  and  his  own  coronation.  Duke  Karl 


SIGISMUND. 

appeared  on  the  spot  with  a  strong  force,  and  plainly  in- 
formed the  Eoman  Catholic  King  that  there  would  be  no 
coronation  unless  before  twenty-four  hours  had  passed 
he  had  indorsed  the  decisions  of  the  Upsala  Assembly 
(Upsala-mote).  Sigismund  made  the  forced  promise, 
and  was  crowned  with  all  due  state  and  ceremony. 
The  promise  was  almost  immediately  broken.  Catholic 


352  PICTUEES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

services  were  performed  here  and  there,  and  Lutherans 
were  openly  insulted.  It  was  remembered  that  while 
Sigismund  was  taking  the  coronation  oath,  he  had  let 
his  right  hand  drop,  until  his  uncle  reminded  him,  as 
if  he  were  a  naughty  boy,  that  his  hand  should  be 
kept  up,  and  he  was  obeyed.  After  giving  at  last  an 
undecided  and  imperfect  permission  for  Duke  Karl  and 
the  Council  to  rule  in  his  absence,  Sigismund  betook 
himself  to  Poland,  saying  in  private  to  his  followers : 
"  Now  let  Duke  Karl  and  the  Council  claw  and  tear 
each  other  to  pieces,  if  they  will  It  is  just  good 
enough  for  heretics  ! " 

Duke  Karl  proved  a  competent  manager,  and  in 
1595  he  was  appointed  by  the  Kiksdag  as  authorized 
regent  and  the  kingdom's  chief  and  head. 

Sigismund  came  again  to  Sweden  with  an  armed 
force,  but  was  defeated  by  Duke  Karl  and  retired  to 
Poland.  In  1599  Sigismund  was  formally  dethroned 
by  the  Riksdag,  for  breach  of  his  word  and  misdoings 
in  faith  and  practice.  His  son  was  to  be  acknowledged 
as  King,  if  he  appeared  in  Sweden  to  be  brought  up  in 
the  Lutheran  faith  ;  which  of  course  he  did  not. 

Sigismund  lived  as  King  of  Poland,  ever  a  hater  of 
Sweden,  thirty-three  years  after  he  had  been  forced  to 
forfeit  his  throne. 


A  STRONG  HAND.  353 


A  STEONG  HAND. 

KARL   IX.  (1599-1611). 

GUSTAF  VASA  must  have  had  a  great  respect  for  a 
thorough  education ;  for  though  himself  more  of  a 
soldier  and  a  statesman  than  a  scholar,  he  was  careful 
to  have  his  children  trained  in  all  the  learning  of  the 
times. 

Karl  IX.  was  a  well-read  as  well  as  an  able  man, 
and  knew  how  to  make  good  use  of  his  attainments 
and  abilities.  What  he  willed  was  generally  accom- 
plished, for  he  spared  no  possible  means  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  purposes.  He  began  his  rule  by  the  execu- 
tion of  more  than  a  score  of  malcontents  in  Finland, 
and  then  disciplined  the  prominent  men  of  Sweden  by 
putting  to  death  five  of  them,  though  their  wives  and 
children  begged  for  mercy  on  their  knees  at  the  palace 
gates.  The  new  King  was  now  feared ;  it  remained  to 
make  himself  beloved.  Beloved  he  became  by  the 
common  people,  in  whose  welfare  he  took  a  real  and 
hearty  interest,  and  for  whom  he  claimed  the  same 
protection  from  the  law  as  was  awarded  to  the  highest 
noble.  He  liked  to  win  a  rough  miner's  favor  by 
draining  to  the  dregs  the  big  beaker  that  was  offered 
him,  or  please  a  countryman  by  putting  him  in  the 
seat  of  honor  in  a  carriage,  while  majesty  took  a  lower 
place.  His  reign  was  no  time  of  continual  peace.  The 
usual  enemies  were  to  be  met  in  the  field,  and  found 
him  no  mean  enemy. 

23 


354  PICTURES   OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

Karl  IX.,  the  last  of  the  sons  of  Gustaf  Vasa,  was 
thrifty  for  himself  and  his  kingdom.  His  Queen, 
Kristina,  carried  her  economy  so  far  that  she  measured 
out  the  thread  that  was  to  be  used  by  her  ladies  in 
attendance.  The  practical  King  was  fond  of  handling 
the  pen.  He,  too,  made  out  an  order  for  church 
services  that  was  rejected  by  the  clergy,  and  a  cate- 
chism that  met  the  same  fate.  His  collections  of 
hymns  he  published  anonymously.  Several  of  the 
sacred  songs  were,  undoubtedly,  of  his  own  composi- 
tion. He  ever  advocated  the  Bible  as  the  simple  rule 
of  faith,  and  is  said  to  have  been  influenced  by  his  first 
wife,  "  the  mild  Maria  of  Pfalz,"  towards  the  doctrines 
of  Calvin.  His  second  wife,  strong  and  severe  Queen 
Kristina  of  Holstein-Gottorp,  was  the  honored  mother 
of  the  great  king  who  is  best  known  to  the  English 
world  as  Gustavus  Adolphus. 


SVEA'S  DEAREST  SON.  355 


SVEA'S   DEAEEST   SON. 

GUSTAF   II.   ADOLF  (1611-1632). 

THE  devout  Saint  Erik  is  the  chosen  patron  of 
Sweden,  but  the  saint  to  whom  the  heart  of  the 
Swede  now  gives  its  allegiance  is  the  adored  Gustaf 
Adolf.  He  is  not  dead.  The  little  child  lays  its 
tender  hand  in  that  of  the  great  king  almost  as  truly 
as  if  they  were  humanly  face  to  face.  Gustaf  Adolf 
lives  to  the  warm  enthusiasm  of  youth,  and  is  the 
friend  as  well  as  the  beloved  king  of  the  man  of 
riper  years.  From  palace  and  castle  to  the  island  hut 
of  the  lone  fisherman,  there  is  hardly  a  Swedish  home 
where  the  marked,  serious  face  of  Gustaf  Adolf  does 
not  look  out  from  the  wall  on  which  hangs  the  pic- 
ture or  print  that  is  the  family  treasure.  He  is  revered 
in  every  country  in  Christendom  ;  but  in  Sweden  even 
the  stranger  learns  to  love  the  hero  King. 

Born  in  his  country's  capital,  reared  among  war- 
riors and  statesmen,  the  young  Gustaf  Adolf  drank  in 
wisdom  and  knowledge  from  his  surroundings,  as  well 
as  from  skilful  teachers  and  books  carefully  studied. 
Karl  IX.  would  gaze  thoughtfully  at  his  promising 
boy,  and  say  in  terse  Latin,  "  He  will  do  it !  "  The 
father  was  sure  there  was  a  glorious  future  in  store 
for  his  gifted  son.  This  son  was  early  his  stay,  and 
at  sixteen  the  future  hero  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
was  already  skilled  in  military  tactics  and  was  already 


356  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

a  brave  leader  in  the  field.  At  seventeen,  on  the  death 
of  his  father,  Gustaf  Adolf  was  at  once  hailed  as  king, 
and  he  at  once  showed  himself  royally  devoted  to  his 
country.  His  own  silver  was  unhesitatingly  sent 
to  the  mint,  to  help  pay  the  sum  required  by  the 
Danes  as  an  essential  condition  of  peace.  On  the 
Russians'  own  border  he  won  a  stretch  of  waste  land, 
and  Lake  Ladoga  and  her  smaller  sisters,  to  make 
with  the  strong  Finnish  forts  a  barrier  against  the 
sudden  invasion  of  Sweden  on  that  side.  Of  the 
lakes  he  said  (for  once,  humorously) :  "  It  will  be 
hard  for  the  Eussian  to  hop  over  a  brook  like 
that. " 

The  sympathies  of  the  wise  King  were  with  young 
Protestant  America,  and  he  planned  a  "  New  Sweden" 
there,  that  was  to  be  "  the  jewel  of  his  kingdom. " 
Providence  has  placed  the  New  Sweden,  not  in  Dela- 
ware, .  but  in  the  Great  Northwest. 

He  was  a  monarch  who  could  have  true  and  wise  . 
friends,  from  whom  he  was  willing  to  learn.  Fore- 
most on  this  honored  list  stands  the  name  of  Axel 
Oxenstierna,  who  knew  so  well  how  to  be  a  devoted 
subject  and  at  the  same  time  an  uncompromising 
adviser.  Side  by  side,  bound  together  by  mutual 
affection  and  a  common  love  of  their  common  coun- 
try, the  two  labored  for  the  public  weal, —  Gustaf 
Adolf  with  the  fire  of  youth,  and  the  cool-headed 
Chancellor  with  the  calm  far-seeing  wisdom  of  riper 
years. 

Gustaf  Adolf  was  a  brilliant  military  leader, 
but  he  did  not  neglect  the  internal  interests  of  his 
kingdom.  The  Riksdag  was  made  by  law  to  consist 
of  the  four  estates.  A  supreme  court  was  ordered. 
Free  instruction  made  it  possible  for  the  gifted  boy 


SVEA'S  DEAREST  SON.  357 

of  any  station  to  have  a  liberal  education.  Cities 
were  founded ;  among  them,  Goteborg.  The  forces  by 
land  and  sea  were  strengthened,  disciplined,  and 
organized.  The  King  himself  was  soldier  as  well  as 
commander.  He  could  share  labor  and  danger  and 
privation  with  his  men,  and  give  them  a  loving, 
fatherly  interest. 

He  was,  by  conviction  and  by  living  experience, 
a  devoted  Protestant.  Into  the  thick  of  the  fight  of 
the  Thirty  Years'  War  he  plunged  as  willingly,  as 
impetuously,  as  he  would  have  rushed  to  the  aid  of  a 
single  man  surrounded  by  a  persecuting  mob.  Eight 
must  be  defended,  cost  what  it  would ! 

The  world  knows  how  "  the  golden-haired  king, " 
with  his  brave  Swedes,  suddenly  appeared  on  the 
scene,  to  be  mocked  at  by  the  Emperor,  who  was 
pleased  to  say,  "  So  we  have  another  little  enemy  on 
our  back !  "  The  "  little  enemy  "  was  not  to  be  trifled 
with  or  despised.  The  "  golden-haired  king  "  was 
soon  covered  with  glory ;  but  his  bright,  short  career 
was  drawing  to  its  close.  The  riderless  horse  that 
told  the  Swedes  at  Liitzen  the  sad  news  of  the  death 
of  Gustaf  Adolf  urged  them  on  to  victory.  The  sad 
tidings  of  the  fall  of  the  brave  Swedish  King  spread 
from  land  to  land  throughout  Christendom,  and  there 
was  universal  mourning.  The  whole  Swedish  na- 
tion was  convulsed  with  sorrow,  as  of  one  stricken 
widow's  mighty  heart.  The  horse  that  bore  the  be- 
loved King  on  that  fatal  day,  the  clothes  he  wore, 
are  still  preserved  and  pointed  out  by  his  devoted 
countrymen,  as  if  the  great  monarch  had  died  but 
yesterday. 

When  we  look  at  the  mature,  serious  face  of  Gustaf 
II.  Adolf,  and  dwell  upon  his  brilliant  military  career 


358  PICTURES   OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

and  what  he  was  able  to  do  for  his  native  land,  we 
think  of  him  as  a  man  as  mature  in  years  and 
wisdom  as  if  he  were  a  kind  of  twin  brother  to  the 
wise  Axel  Oxenstierna;  yet  he  was  but  thirty -eight 
years  of  age  when  he  died,  in  1632. 

Gustaf  Adolf's  strong,  early  affection  for  the  beau- 
tiful and  lovely  Ebba  Brahe  he  sacrificed  to  the 
imperative  will  of  his  mother,  the  stern  Kristina. 
Perhaps  the  sadness  then  stole  into  his  fine  face  never 
to  leave  it.  He  married  a  Brandenburg  wife,  Maria 
Eleonora,  who  was  passionately  devoted  to  him ,  but 
her  tenderness  never  won  him.  She  seems  to  have 
been  to  him  rather  like  a  troublesome,  demonstra- 
tive child,  whom  he  could  meet  kindly  but  could  not 
love.  His  warm,  faithful  attachment  to  Axel  Oxen- 
stierna  plainly  shows  what  he  might  have  been  to  a 
beloved  wife,  and  how  he  might  have  enjoyed  the 
sweet  pleasures  of  home  even  in  a  palace. 

An  engraving  can  give  but  little  idea  of  a  face  like 
Gustaf  Adolf's,  so  rich  in  coloring,  his  clear  blue 
eyes,  fresh  complexion,  with  hair,  mustaches,  and 
pointed  beard,  all  of  shining  gold.  His  person  was 
tall  and  imposing. 

His  religious  life  was  sincere,  and  entered  into 
all  his  acts  and  undertakings.  His  plans  and 
purposes  were  formed  with  prayer,  and  their  suc- 
cess prompted  sincere  thanksgiving.  A  hymn  of 
his  own  composition,  written  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggles  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  shortly  be- 
fore his  death,  still  stands  in  the  Swedish  "  Psalm- 
Book.  "  In  solemn  assemblies  and  in  the  home  circle, 
in  castle  and  cottage,  it  is  sung  with  peculiar  effu- 
sion. Child  and  laborer,  maid  and  master,  can 
promptly  point  out  Gustaf  Adolf's  hymn ;  they  all 


SVEA'S  DEAREST  SON.  359 

know  it.  So  the  great  King  still  teaches  his  people, 
and  lifts  them  up  to  the  faith  that  enabled  him  to 
say, — 

"  With  us  is  God,  with  Him  are  we, 
And  victory  is  ours  1 " 


860  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


GUSTAF   ADOLF'S   DAUGHTER 

KRISTINA  (1632-1654). 

THE  poet  Snoilsky  describes  the  six-year-old  Kris- 
tina  sitting  in  a  room  dark  with  black  velvet  hang- 
ings. The  wise  face  and  questioning  eyes  of  the 
child  now  and  then  turn  furtively  towards  her  mother. 
The  sorrowing  Queen,  in  her  widow's  garb,  sits  weep- 
ing over  the  golden  casket  which  holds  her  treasure, 
the  heart  of  the  dead  Gustaf  Adolf.  The  door  is 
respectfully  opened.  There  steps  in  the  figure  of  a 
strong  man,  with  hair  tinged  with  gray,  a  wide  lace 
collar  under  the  square-cut  beard,  and  black  silk 
stockings  closely  fitting  the  well-formed  legs.  He 
greets,  with  a  courtier's  grace,  the  silent  mourner  and 
the  little  Queen,  but  there  is  something  in  his  bearing 
which  tells  that  here  he  rules.  It  is  Axel  Oxenstierna, 
the  friend  of  Gustaf  Adolf,  the  stay  of  the  widowed 
Queen,  —  the  wise,  firm  man,  who  is  to  govern  the 
kingdom  for  Kristina. 

Perhaps  it  would  have  been  well  for  Sweden  if  her 
people  had  used  their  old  elective  privileges,  and  had 
chosen  at  once  Axel  Oxenstierna  for  their  king.  As  it 
was,  he  did  his  best  for  the  country,  while  Kristina 's 
wise  Aunt  Katarina  took  charge  of  the  little  girl,  to 
be  brought  up  with  her  playfellow  and  cousin,  Karl 
Gustaf.  The  playfellows  became  in  time  betrothed 
lovers. 


GUSTAF   ADOLF'S  DAUGHTER.  361 

Axel  Oxenstierna  ruled  the  kingdom  wisely  and 
well.  He  was  without  personal  ambition,  and  could 
be  called  "  cousin  "  by  the  French  King  without  wish- 
ing to  have  the  usual  crowned  claims  for  such  a 
familiarity.  The  post-office  system  was  now  intro- 
duced into  Sweden,  and  newspapers  began  their  great 
work  for  good  or  ill.  The  "  New  Sweden, "  of  Gustaf 
Adolf's  imagination,  took  form.  The  great  captains 
of  the  great  King  brought  ever-increasing  honor  to  the 
banner  of  Sweden,  which  now  waved  nearly  round 
the  Baltic.  The  nobility  meanwhile  increased  in 
riches  and  power,  and  lived  in  their  magnificent 
castles  like  kings  rather  than  subjects. 

In  1644  the  young  Queen,  now  eighteen  years  of 
age,  came  formally  to  the  throne.  A  learned  and 
gifted  woman,  without  balance,  without  a  deep- 
rooted  sense  of  right,  changeable  and  incomprehen- 
sible, she  did  not  understand  how  to  rule  herself  or 
her  kingdom.  She  lavished  treasure  on  her  favor- 
ites and  her  pleasures,  began  to  frown  on  wise  Axel 
Oxenstierna,  and  to  smile  on  the  handsome  and  lux- 
urious Magnus  de  la  Gardie,  who  had  more  strong 
castles  than  he  had  letters  in  his  name. 

As  for  Kristina's  cousin,  Karl  Gustaf,  she  de- 
clared that  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  marry  him ; 
but  she  made  him  a  royal  amende,  by  first  managing 
to  have  him  appointed  Crown  Prince,  and  then  leav- 
ing him  her  throne.  Queen  Kristina's  course  of  study 
and  folly  and  extravagance  was  soon  seen.  She  was 
weary  of  the  restraints  and  cares  and  duties  of 
royalty,  and  the  day  was  approaching  for  her  volun- 
tary, formal,  and  final  abdication.  She  had  been  ten 
years  a  reigning  queen,  and  longed  to  be  a  free,  irre- 
sponsible woman,  to  indulge  the  whims  and  fancies 


362  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

of  her  unsettled,  unbalanced  nature.  She  would  leave 
her  throne,  her  crown,  and  her  kingdom  behind  her, 
and  begin  a  new  if  not  a  better  life. 

It  was  a  June  morning,  and  summer  was  in  its 
fresh  beauty,  when  in  the  great  hall  of  Upsala  Castle 
the  abdication  was  to  take  place.  The  wise  and  the 
powerful  of  the  kingdom  were  there,  in  solemn 
assembly  and  in  magnificent  array.  Kristina  ap- 
peared in  full  royal  apparel,  and  took  her  place  on 
the  throne,  with  her  counsellors  about  her.  At  a 
short  distance  from  the  central  group  stood  Karl 
Gustaf,  in  a  full  suit  of  black  velvet,  the  former 
lover  and  future  king. 

The  act  of  abdication  was  read.  The  Queen  then 
motioned  to  the  high  officials  to  come  forward  and 
take  her  crown.  No  one  stirred.  She  herself  lifted 
the  crown  from  her  head,  and  was  then  soon  relieved 
of  sceptre,  apple,  and  royal  mantle. 

Simply  attired  in  white  silk,  and  without  orna- 
ments, Kristina  stepped  down  from  the  throne  and 
dais,  as  "  beautiful  as  an  angel, "  writes  a  contempo- 
rary. She  spoke  freely  and  nobly,  without  embarrass- 
ment. Sometimes,  for  an  instant,  her  voice  was 
choked  with  emotion ;  and  courtiers  and  court  ladies, 
old  counsellors  and  young  admirers,  felt  their  eyes 
suddenly  filled  with  unexpected  tears. 

She  first  addressed  herself  to  her  cousin,  and  com- 
mended her  kingdom  to  his  care.  She  thanked  the 
honored  Council  for  the  help  they  had  given  her, 
and  asked  forgiveness  of  them  and  her  people  for  all 
her  shortcomings,  and  then  bade  farewell  to  her 
crown  and  her  subjects.  Attended  by  Karl  Gustaf, 
she  turned  to  leave  the  assembly.  At  the  door  of  the 
hall  she  motioned  to  her  cousin  to  precede  her;  but 


GUSTAF  ADOLF'S  DAUGHTER.        368 

he  fell  back,  and  Kristina  passed  out  for  the  last 
time  as  a  queen. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  new  King  was 
crowned,  with  all  due  ceremony.  Kristina  was  not 
present  at  the  coronation. 

Twelve  Swedish  vessels-of-war  had  been  prepared  to 
take  Kristina  to  Germany ;  but  she  started  the  day  after 
her  abdication,  with  some  foreigners  and  a  very  few 
Swedes,  on  her  journey  southward  by  land.  As  she 
passed  from  the  Swedish  possessions  to  those  of  the 
Danes  on  the  peninsula,  she  hopped  girlishly  over  the 
little  stream  that  marked  the  boundary,  saying,  "  Now 
I  am  free,  and  out  of  Sweden,  and  hope  never  again  to 
return  ! " 

"  What  did  Kristina  do  at  Innspruck  ? "  asked,  lately, 
one  of  the  most  gifted  teachers  of  Stockholm  of  a  class 
of  little  girls. 

A  child  eagerly  rose  to  answer ;  but  her  eyes  filled 
with  indignant  tears,  in  a  choked  voice  she  said, 
"  I  cannot  tell  it ! "  and  sat  down.  Not  one  of  the  class 
was  willing  to  recount  how  Gustaf  Adolf's  daughter 
had  abjured  the  faith  for  which  he  had  been  willing  to 
die.  The  teacher  must  tell  the  sad  story  herself. 

On  entering  the  Catholic  Church,  Kristina  took  the 
added  name  of  Alexandra. 

Feted,  but  irl  heart  despised,  Kristina  went  from  court 
to  court.  The  polite  Parisians  were  sorely  shocked  at 
the  hoydenish  manners  of  the  Queen  of  the  North. 
Settled  at  Eome,  she  gathered  around  her,  as  usual,  an 
odd  circle  of  lovers  of  pleasure  and  lovers  of  knowledge, 
and  managed  long  to  enjoy  their  society.  She  "re- 
ceived" and  wrote  and  danced  and  studied  until  old 
age  and  loneliness  came  upon  her. 

Twice  Kristina  made  her  appearance  in  Sweden,  not 


364  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

unwilling  to  resume  the  crown  she  had  cast  aside ;  but 
her  abdication  had  been  too  open  and  too  fully  accepted. 
In  the  land  of  Gustaf  Adolf  there  was  no  place  for  a 
Catholic  Queen. 

"  Thou  art  poor,  Kristina  Alexandra, 
When  life's  drama  nears  its  close," 

says  Snoilsky,  in  one  of  his  beautiful  historical  poems. 
Poor,  indeed,  in  all  that  makes  life  worth  living,  was 
the  Swedish  Queen,  when  she  closed  her  eyes  in  a 
far  foreign  land,  in  1689,  thirty -five  years  after  her 
abdication. 

Her  library  is  treasured  in  the  Vatican.  Her  re- 
mains lie  in  St.  Peter's  at  Eome. 

In  Kristina's  reign  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  signa- 
lized the  close  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  This  long- 
desired  peace  is  a  nobler  glory  to  associate  with  the  time 
of  Gustaf  Adolf's  daughter  than  even  the  victories  of 
her  great  generals. 


A  BOLD   EXPLOIT.  365 


A   BOLD   EXPLOIT. 

KARL  X.   GUSTAF  (1654-1660). 

A  WOMAN  had  left  the  throne  of  Sweden  to  a  warrior. 
Though  a  scholarly  man,  the  new  King  had  received  a 
thorough  training,  theoretical  and  experimental,  in  the 
arts  of  war.  He  was  a  soldier  by  profession  and  pref- 
erence. Short,  dark-skinned,  and  with  long  black  hair, 
he  was,  excepting  his  lively  blue  eyes,  most  unlike 
his  ancestors,  the  Vasas,  in  appearance ;  but  he  was  a 
true  Swede  at  heart,  as  well  as  in  language  and  modes 
of  thought.  The  new  King  was  as  prompt  in  civil 
matters  as  military,  and  at  once  set  on  foot  a  movement 
by  which  the  nobility  must  give  up  a  fourth  of  their 
acquired  lands. 

An  experienced  soldier,  but  thirty-two  years  of  age, 
could  not  be  expected  to  settle  down  to  a  quiet  reign  ; 
nor  would  the  enemies  of  Sweden  suffer  him  to  do  it. 
He  had  trouble  with  Poland,  and  came  out  of  it  with 
new  laurels  from  his  brilliant  campaigns  ;  but  it  was  in 
his  struggle  with  Denmark  that  he  wrote  his  name 
highest  on  the  roll  of  fame.  Karl  X.  Gustaf  was  in 
Poland  when  the  war  broke  out.  He  posted  with  a 
picked  force  to  Denmark,  and  swept  in  with  his  men 
till  the  Danish  waters,  covered  with  doubtful  ice, 
seemed  to  put  a  barrier  in  his  way  and  bid  him  come 
to  a  stand.  The  winter  had  fortified  the  island  homes 
of  the  enemy.  But  a  son  of  the  North l  was  not  to  be 

1  Karl  Gustaf  was  born  and  reared  in  Sweden.  His  father,  Johan 
Kasimir,  Count  Palatine,  married  Gustaf  Adolf's  favorite  sister,  Kata 
rina,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Sweden. 


366 


PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


so  set  at  defiance.  Over  the  ice  he  took  his  march,  with 
cavalry  and  cannon,  and  the  tramp  of  the  brave  Swedes, 
who  trudged  cheerily  on  foot.  The  ice  swayed  under 
the  moving  army,  and  occasionally  burst  asunder  ;  the 
half-melted  snow  was  sometimes  up  to  the  bodies  of 


ERIK   DAHLBERG. 

the  horses ;  yet  onward,  over  watery  Belt  after  Belt, 
across  river  and  island,  the  determined  leader  led  his 
men.  Copenhagen  was  threatened,  and  Karl  X.  Gustaf 
could  make  his  own  terms  of  peace.  The  Danish  pos- 
sessions, that  had  ever  threateningly  skirted  Southern 
Sweden,  were  given  up.  The  provinces  of  Skane,  Hal- 
land,  Bleking,  and  Bohuslan  became  Swedish,  and  have 
remained  so  to  this  day.  Now,  for  the  first  time, 


A  BOLD   EXPLOIT.  367 

Sweden  was  a  rounded  whole,  with  her  own  natural 
boundaries. 

The  King  was  not  allowed  to  have  all  the  glory  of 
this  bold  martial  achievement.  He  shares  it,  in  his- 
tory, with  his  aid  Erik  Dahlberg,  who  counselled  and 
encouraged  and  sustained  the  bold  undertaking. 

The  peace  with  Denmark  was  soon  broken.  Some 
historians  lay  the  blame  on  Karl  X.  Gustaf;  others 
on  the  Danes.  Copenhagen  was  besieged  by  the 
Swedes.  Soldiers  and  scholars,  quiet  citizens  and 
even  their  wives,  lent  their  hands  to  the  defence  of 
the  Danish  capital.  The  ramparts  were  coated  with 
ice;  the  ice  was  dyed  with  blood;  balls  and  stones 
and  hot  water  were  alike  showered  down  on  the 
besiegers,  and  they  were  forced  ignominiously  to 
withdraw. 

Karl  X.  Gustaf  lost  heart,  called  a  meeting  of  the 
Riksdag  in  Goteborg,  and  hastened  to  be  present. 
After  a  few  days  of  violent  fever  he  died  there,  having 
reigned  but  six  years.  He  left  a  widow,  Hedvig 
Eleonora  of  Holstein-Gottorp,  and  a  little  four-year- 
old  son,  who  bore  his  own  name. 


368  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


THE  PRACTICAL  MAN. 

KARL  XL    (1660-1697). 

A  CHILD  now  came  to  the  throne,  —  a  messenger  of 
peace.  With  a  baby  ruler,  a  war  with  three  kings 
was  not  to  be  thought  of. 

The  guardians  of  the  child,  five  high  officers  of  the 
kingdom,  and  the  widowed  Queen  formed  a  kind  of 
provisional  government.  The  forts  were  allowed  to 
crumble  away.  State  dignitaries  who  did  not  receive 
their  salaries  had  hard  work  to  make  ends  meet,  and 
the  common  soldiers  got  out  of  their  similar  diffi- 
culties by  simply  absconding. 

When  seventeen  years  old,  Karl  XL  was  declared  to 
be  of  age.  He  was  a  moral  youth,  with  much  religious 
reverence,  and  an  innate  obstinacy  that  would  not 
be  conquered.  He  had  preferred  riding,  hunting,  and 
military  drill  to  study,  and  had  had  his  own  way,  as 
his  life-long  deficiencies  in  spelling  and  other  more 
elegant  accomplishments  were  continually  proving. 
But  Karl  XL  was  a  practical  man,  and  an  honest 
one,  bent  on  the  good  of  his  kingdom,  and  on  ruling 
it  in  his  own  way.  Foreign  enemies  thronged  upon 
him,  but  where  were  the  munitions  of  war  ?  It  was 
plain  there  had  been  mismanagement  during  the 
minority.  The  young  King  toppled  over  the  "  wise 
men  "  of  Sweden,  and  took  the  reins  of  government  in 
his  own  hand. 

The  guardians  had  established  a  new  university  at 
Lund.  The  inexperienced,  unscholarly  monarch  was 


THE   PRACTICAL  MAN. 


369 


to  make  Lund  glorious  in  another  fashion.  There  he 
brilliantly  led  his  troops,  defeated  the  Danes  (1676) 
in  Sweden's  bloodiest  battle,  where  half  of  the  com- 
batants were  left  dead  on  the  winter  snow.  That  day 
of  glory  is  the  "  '76  "  of  the  Swedes,  and  has  its 
"  centennials  "  duly  celebrated.  Karl  XI.  always 


KARL    XI. 


added,  to  the  festal  rejoicings  on  the  anniversary  of 
the  day,  much  time  spent  in  his  own  private  room 
in  solemn  thanksgiving. 

The  peace  with  the  Danes  was  almost  immediately 
followed  by  another  union, —  not  a  Kalmar  Union,  but 
a  marriage  between  the  young  King  and  the  Danish 
princess,  Ulrika  Eleonora,  who  ever  did  all  that  she 
could  to  promote  peace  in  the  Scandinavian  family. 

24 


370  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

The  royal  treasury  was  low  for  the  want  of  the  newly 
married  couple  and  the  public  needs.  The  nobles  must 
yield  up  their  accumulated  lands  and  palaces,  and  learn 
simpler  ways.  Karl  X.  had  tried  such  a  reduction  of 
their  claims  and  resources ;  his  son  now  managed  to 
have  the  experiment  more  thoroughly  and  successfully 
accomplished.  The  State  profited  by  the  movement, 
but  the  feathers  were  stripped  from  many  a  fine  bird. 
The  magnificent  Magnus  de  la  Gardie,  the  lord  of 
many  castles,  was  near,  in  the  end,  being  left  in  his 
old  age  without  a  home.  There  were  loud  murmurs 
among  the  nobles.  To  keep  all  quiet,  it  was  enacted 
that  the  King  need  consult  his  councillors  only  when 
he  thought  fit,  — a  pleasant  position  for  a  self-willed 
and  obstinate  monarch.  It  was  not  long  before  it  was 
established  by  the  Eiksdag  that  the  King  of  Sweden 
was  an  absolute,  all-commanding  sovereign  king, 
who  could  manage  his  kingdom  according  to  his  royal 
will.  Karl  XI.  willed  well  for  his  country,  but 
Nature  was  stubborn ;  she  would  not  be  controlled  by 
the  arbitrary  king.  Unfavorable  weather  brought 
poor  harvests.  Poor  harvests  threatened  the  people 
with  starvation,  and  of  course  trade  and  manufactures 
declined  in  spite  of  the  King's  vigorous  measures  for 
their  support. 

Karl  XI.  was  no  king  to  sit  in  luxury,  in  ignorance 
of  the  condition  of  his  people.  He  was  simple  in  his 
own  needs,  and  friendly  in  disposition,  though  shy 
on  court  occasions.  He  liked  to  move  unknown 
among  his  subjects,  like  the  Great  Caliph,  and 
innumerable  stories  are  told  of  his  adventures  in 
these  secret  excursions.  A  traveller  on  foot  asked 
one  day  to  ride  with  a  passing  peasant  on  his  double 
sled  (two  sleds  following  each  other  and  connected  by 


THE   PRACTICAL  MAN.  371 

an  iron  ring  and  pin).  There  was  a  friendly  answer, 
and  the  two  fell  into  a  conversation,  in  which  the 
countryman  spoke  by  no  means  favorably  of  the  King. 
He  thought  the  voice  from  behind  did  not  sound  very 
pleasantly,  and  looking  round  full  into  the  face  of 
his  passenger,  recognized  the  well-known  features  of 
his  royal  Majesty.  In  an  instant  the  peasant  pulled 
out  the  pin  that  connected  the  sleds,  and  drove  off  at 
full  speed,  leaving  the  King  to  his  own  reflections,  sit- 
ting helpless  on  a  sled  in  the  middle  of  the  highroad. 
Of  course  the  King  was  soon  helped  out  of  his  difficul- 
ties. The  peasant  was  not  punished  for  his  freedom 
of  speech  or  his  sudden  disappearance,  and  probably 
was  better  pleased  with  his  King  than  ever  before. 

Karl  XI.  watched  over  the  interests  of  the  poor  and 
unprotected,  and  was  eager  for  the  instruction  of  the 
lower  classes.  He  made  the  priests  responsible  for 
their  parishes, —  that  every  member  should  be  able  to 
read,  and  be  taught  the  essentials  of  Christian  life 
and  doctrine.  He  was  a  working  king,  often  leaving 
official  places  unfilled,  and  taking  on  himself  the 
duties  of  the  position.  If  the  day  had  not  sufficed 
him  for  what  he  meant  to  do,  he  would  be  busy  until 
late  in  the  night.  Eural  festivities  pleased  him 
better  than  court  entertainments.  He  was  economi- 
cal with  his  own  funds,  as  with  the  public  treasury. 
Hasty  in  his  disposition,  he  could  even  draw  his 
sword  on  an  antagonist  in  a  dispute  when  words  failed 
to  convince  his  opponent. 

He  died  in  1697,  when  but  a  little  over  forty  years 
of  age.  He  left  three  children,  —  a  son,  the  famous 
Karl  XII.,  and  two  daughters,  the  youngest  the  little 
Ulrika  Eleonora. 


372  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LITE. 


A   MILITAEY   GENIUS. 

KARL  XII.    (1697-1718). 

A  STRANGE  bonfire  and  illumination  celebrated  the 
accession  of  the  renowned  Karl  XII.  While  his  dead 
father  lay  in  state  in  the  royal  palace  at  Stockholm, 
a  fire  broke  out,  and  consumed  the  whole  building. 
It  was  no  common  reign  that  was  so  inaugurated. 
The  escape  from  the  palace  is  one  of  the  first  pictures 
that  rises  before  us  at  the  mention  of  the  "  fighting 
King. "  We  next  see  an  orphan  madcap  of  fifteen, 
whom  his  grandmother  and  the  wise  heads  associated 
with  her  are  quite  unable  to  control.  He  is  ready  to 
fight  a  bear  with  a  wooden  pitchfork,  or  make  his 
horse  leap  over  a  pile  of  lumber  as  high  as  a  cottage, 
or  in  a  nightly  prowl  break  the  windows  of  his 
sleeping  subjects,  like  any  common  disturber  of  the 
peace. 

The  coronation  must,  however,  take  place.  The 
young  King  put  the  crown  on  his  own  head,  and  made 
no  promises  as  to  how  he  would  govern  his  people. 
From  his  father  he  had  learned  that  a  Swedish  king 
should  be  an  absolute  ruler.  His  mother  had  taught 
him  that  he  owed  subjection  to  the  King  of  Kings, 
and  obedience  to  His  pure  laws.  Karl  XII.  held 
fast  through  life  to  the  instructions  of  both  parents. 
He  added,  moreover,  to  the  Scriptural  commands  a 
sumptuary  law  for  himself,  that  he  should  drink 
no  wine.  He  was  soon  to  know  a  new  kind  of 
intoxication. 


A   MILITARY   GENIUS.  373 

"  Now, "  thought  the  enemies  of  Sweden,  "  is  the 
time  to  pay  off  old  scores.  It  will  be  easy  to  manage 
the  wild  young  King.  "  Then  the  "  wild  young  King" 
was  suddenly  sobered.  His  follies  dropped  away  from 
him  like  cast-off  garments.  He  heard  the  sound  of 
the  whizzing  balls  of  the  battle-field,  and  exclaimed, 
"  This  shall  hereafter  be  my  music !"  It  was  a 
strange  march  to  which  that  music  led  him  on. 

The  eighteen-year  old  young  King  developed  sud 
denly    into   a   conquering    hero.     Czar   Peter    must, 
abashed,  retire  to  learn  the  arts  of  war  if  he  wished 
to  humble  his  fiery  adversary. 

Karl  XII. ,  who  had  begun  his  military  career  with 
a  blue  silk  bed  and  blue  silk  pillows  as  a  part  of  his 
camp  equipage,  had  soon  learned  to  sleep,  if  need  be, 
under  the  open  sky,  with  but  "  his  martial  cloak 
around  him. "  Wading  through  deep  water,  or  strug  - 
gling  through  marshes,  or  in  hand-to-hand  fight  with 
the  sword,  on  victory  he  was  determined  ;  and  triumph 
after  triumph  awaited  him.  Danes  and  Russians 
and  Poles  were  swept  away  before  him.  Bitter  cold 
and  scant  fare  in  the  land  of  Mazeppa  could  not  sub- 
due his  spirit.  Disastrous  Pultava  turned  the  scales. 
The  eagle  brooded  in  Turkey  over  possible  conquests, 
and  grew  restless  and  suspicious  and  turbulent.  The 
guest  became  a  prisoner,  and  must  murmur,  like 
Sterne's  starling,  "I  can't  get  out!" 

The  King  of  the  North  did  escape  at  last.  After  a 
wild,  desperate  ride,  dusty  and  disguised,  he  arrived 
one  dark  November  night  at  Stralsund,  then  belong- 
ing to  the  Swedes.  More  war  and  more  defeat  fol- 
lowed. An  empty  treasury,  a  depreciated  currency, 
and  extortionate  demands  on  the  people  for  soldiers 
and  money  had  brought  sore  distress  upon  Sweden; 


374  PICTURES   OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

but  there  must  still  be  war,  and  war  must  end  in 
victory !  The  Swedish  forces  were  led  against  Nor- 
way, their  King  sure  of  success. 

Leaning,  one  Sunday  morning,  over  a  breastwork, 
Karl  XII.  was  watching  his  soldiers  busy  on  the 
fortifications.  He  was  warned  that  he  was  within 
reach  of  the  balls  of  the  enemy,  but  did  not  heed,  if 
he  really  heard,  the  caution.  His  head  was  seen  to 
sink  down  into  his  cloak ;  his  left  hand  dropped  at 
his  side,  as  if  he  had  fallen  into  a  quiet  sleep;  it 
was  the  sleep  of  death.  A  ball  had  passed  through 
his  temples  and  killed  him  instantly. 

The  deeds  of  Karl  XII.  are  too  well  known  to  be 
here  more  than  hinted  at.  He  himself  is  still  to  the 
world  a  mystery.  His  commands  he  could  give,  and 
insure  their  execution;  but  his  thoughts  he  could 
share  with  none.  Taciturn,  self-controlled,  rever- 
ential, true,  and  pure,  careless  of  his  own  comfort, 
and  as  careless  of  the  comfort  of  others,  he  passed 
through  life  with  his  secret  depths  unknown  and 
uncomprehended  by  those  who  were  ever  near  him. 
Self-confident,  obstinate,  and  fearless,  he  could  not 
believe  there  could  be  more  than  a  passing  shadow 
over  his  brilliant  career.  He  was  conquered  by  his 
own  passion  to  conquer,  and  defeated  by  his  own 
belief  in  the  impossibility  of  his  defeat;  and  yet  but 
for  that  fatal  Norwegian  ball,  who  can  say  what  his 
future  might  have  been  ? 

No  children  were  to  bear  the  name  of  the  dead 
hero,  but  a  soldier  who  had  served  under  his  banner 
was  called  a  "  Karolin ;"  and  that  title  was  an  honor, 
indeed,  and  the  pride  of  many  a  veteran. 

Molin's  admirable  statue  of  Karl  XII.,  in  Stock- 
holm, and  the  many  engravings  that  are  found  in  all 


A  MILITARY   GENIUS.  375 

countries,  give  a  most  distinct  and  striking  impres- 
sion of  his  personal  appearance.  His  eyes  were  of  a 
dark  blue,  his  hair  brown,  and  prematurely  tinged 
with  gray.  He  had  no  taste  for  royal  apparel,  but 
preferred  to  dress  like  any  Swedish  soldier.  He 
might  usually  be  seen  in  a  blue  coat  with  bright 
buttons,  yellow  vest  and  shorts,  high  boots,  steel 
spurs,  three-cornered  felt  hat,  and  at  his  side  his 
enormous  sword,  that  had  served  him  in  so  many 
battles. 

Karl  XII.  was  but  thirty-six  years  old  when  he  died. 
His  tender  mother  had  long  before  been  laid  in  the 
tomb.  He  had  wedded  no  wife  to  be  left  to  mourn 
him ;  but  Svea  still,  boasts  of  his  achievements,  and 
tenderly  points  to  the  plain,  dark  coffin  in  full  sight, 
in  the  Church  of  the  Knights  (Riddarholmen  kyrka), 
the  mausoleum  of  the  Swedish  kings. 


VII. 
ONE   STAR.1 


1  The  strong  kings  of  the  Vasa  race  had  passed  away.  During  the 
century  that  followed  the  death  of  Karl  XII.,  among  the  half-dozen 
sovereigns  who  successively  occupied  the  Swedish  throne,  there  was 
but  one  of  any  prominence ;  and  yet  this  cloudy  time  with  but  its 
"  One  Star  "  had  its  own  importance  for  Sweden. 


SVEA'S   CHILDREN  OF  THE  PAST. 

SHORT-LIVED  HONOR.  A  DRAMA. 

A  HESSIAN.  A  WANDERER. 

A  GOOD  CARPENTER.  DUKE  KARL. 


SHORT-LIVED   HONOR 

ULRIKA  ELEONORA  (1718-1720). 

FROM  the  time  of  Gustaf  Vasa  to  the  present  day, 
there  have  been  but  two  Swedish  queens  reign- 
ing in  their  own  right,  Kristina  and  Ulrika  Eleonora. 
They  both  abdicated  the  throne  of  their  own  free  will. 
Ten  years  of  the  sceptre  were  enough  for  the  strong, 
gifted,  but  fickle  and  frivolous  Kristina ;  two  sufficed 
for  the  incompetent  Ulrika  Eleonora.  In  the  beauti- 
ful painting  which  represents  the  burning  of  the  royal 
palace,  in  1697,  the  prominent  figure  is  that  of  the 
young  King,  Karl  XII.,  conducting  his  grandmother 
and  his  sister  Hedwig  out  of  the  reach  of  the  pursuing 
flames,  while  the  little  Ulrika  Eleonora  seems  to  be 
tripping  along,  a  mere  accessory  in  the  picture.  It 
would  be  pleasant  to  think  of  her  always  as  a  child, 
with  a  pet  or  a  plaything  in  her  arms. 

The  child  grew  to  be  a  woman,  and  was  induced  by 
her  German  husband  to  have  herself  elected  as  suc- 
cessor to  her  distinguished  brother.  She  received  the 
crown,  but  had  little  to  do  with  the  sceptre.  The 
Swedes  had  had  enough  of  absolute  monarchy.  They 
were  willing  to  have  a  throned  ruler ;  but  that  ruler 
must  be  crippled  in  power,  and  bound  by  solemn  prom- 
ises not  to  be  obstinate  or  impertinent,  though  the 
pledge  was  not  exactly  so  worded.  Ulrika  Eleonora 
proved  a  capricious  and  self-willed  sovereign ;  and  after 


380  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

a  pair  of  twelvemonths  the  Eiksdag  willingly  con- 
sented to  humor  her  wish  that  her  husband,  of  whom 
she  was  dotingly  fond,  should  reign  in  her  stead.  She 
lived  twenty  years  as  queen-consul,  but  left  no  trace  on 
the  page  of  history. 


A  HESSIAN.  381 


A   HESSIAN. 

FREDRIK  I.  (1720-1751). 

WITHIN  the  big  wig  of  Ulrika  Eleonora's  husband, 
Fredrik  of  Hesse,  there  was  little  wit.  Below  the 
wig  was  a  fat  body,  which  seems  to  have  been  the 
preponderating  element  in  his  being.  He  was  German 
to  the  core ;  and  though  king  over  Sweden  for  more 
than  thirty  years,  he  never  fully  mastered  the  Swedish 
language. 

Fredrik's  royalty  was  all  a  sham.  If  he  "  con- 
traried  "  the  Riksdag  in  matters  of  State  or  in  any 
way  overstepped  his  limited  royal  privileges,  they  were 
to  be  released  from  oath  of  allegiance  to  him.  If  he 
did  not  promptly  affix  his  signature  to  the  decisions  of 
the  legislative  body,  the  Council  should  declare  in  the 
King's  name  that  such  decisions  had  become  law. 

The  Swedish  historians  call  the  first  fifty  years  that 
followed  the  death  of  Karl  XII.  the  "Age  of  Free- 
dom." It  was  rather  the  age  of  faction.  Though 
the  power  rested  more  with  the  Riksdag  than  the 
throne,  the  Riksdag  was  itself  in  bondage  to  the  ca- 
pricious tyranny  of  malignant  and  unscrupulous  party 
spirit.  The  "  Caps  "  and  the  "  Hats  "  were  the  names 
that  were  given  to  the  two  divisions  of  the  members. 
The  "  Caps  "  were  supposed  to  be  womanish,  and  afraid 
to  oppose  the  Russians  ;  while  the  "  Hats  "  claimed  to 
be  manly,  and  boldly  antagonistic  to  the  hereditary 
enemies  on  the  other  side  of  the  Baltic. 


382 


PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


In  spite  of  the  struggles  with  foes  without,  and  per- 
petual dissensions  within,  there  was,  for  a  time,  com- 
parative prosperity  in  Sweden.  Jonas  Alstromer,  a 
Swedish  shop-boy,  who  had  worked  his  way  upward 
in  England,  came  back  to  his  native  country  to  build 
factories  and  promote  domestic  industry.  He  had  with 


CHRISTOPHKR    POLHKM. 

him  a  treasure  which  he  hid  in  the  ground  to  be  a 
blessing  for  many  generations.  This  treasure  was  the 
humble  potato,  now  first  introduced  into  Sweden. 

Science  had  its  deep  students.  Polhem  and  Eman- 
uel  Swedenborg  (the  latter  not  yet  favored  with 
visions)  distinguished  themselves  in  fathoming  the 
secrets  of  nature  and  the  difficulties  of  mechanics  and 
engineering. 


A  HESSIAN.  383 

For  all  this,  Fredrik  I.  deserves  no  credit.  Fredrik 
finally  died  in  1751.  Strange  to  say,  three  royal  orders 1 
that  were  to  be  given  to  the  men  whom  "the  King 
delighted  to  honor"  were  founded  by  Fredrik,  —  a 
monarch  whose  favor  was  little  honorable. 

While  Fredrik  was  droning  out  his  life  on  the 
throne,  another  king  was  growing  up  in  Sweden.  A 
"naughty  boy  who  would  not  mind  his  book"  went 
straying  in  the  fields  instead  of  sitting  on  the  bench, 
and  would  have  been  put  at  a  trade  but  for  the  inter- 
position of  a  friendly  doctor,  who  thought  he  saw 
something  hopeful  in  this  son  of  a  poor  country 
parson.  The  boy  came  to  Upsala,  found  studies  to  his 
taste,  and  minded  little  that  he  had  scant  fare  and 
sometimes  shoes  out  at  the  toes,  if  he  but  might  linger 
late  into  the  night  over  his  favorite  books.  Eventually 
the  youth,  the  young  Linnaeus,  was  professor  at  Up- 
sala, and  the  pride  of  his  countrymen,  who  named  him 
the  "King  of  Flowers,"  for  he  had  shown  himself  a 
monarch  who  conld  understand  the  laws  of  the  realm 
of  Flora,  and  organize  and  number  and  name  the  sub- 
jects of  her  dominions.  His  statue  stands  in  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  parks  in  Stockholm,  wreathed  round 
by  a  living  garland  of  flowers,  from  early  spring  till 
autumn's  frost.  The  little  children  who  play  about 
him,  if  they  do  not  drop  a  courtesy  as  they  pass,  still 
look  up  into  his  kind  face,  and  give  him  the  respectful 
homage  of  their  fresh  young  hearts. 

1  These  orders  are  the  order  of  the  Seraphim,  the  Polar  Star,  and 
the  Sword. 


384  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 


A  GOOD   CARPENTER. 

ADOLF    FREDRIK     (1761-1771). 

IF  King  Adolf  Fredrik  had  been  born  in  a  humble 
station,  he  would  probably  have  passed  along  without 
blame,  if  without  special  praise.  He  was  more  skilful 
in  using  the  tools  of  a  carpenter  or  turner  than  in 
managing  the  wheels  of  State.  He  had  been  chosen 
from  among  the  descendants  of  Gustaf  Vasa  to  suc- 
ceed Fredrik,  to  please  the  Russian  Empress  ;  and  a 
poor  choice  it  proved  to  be. 

The  royal  name  had  fallen  into  disrepute.  The 
kingdom  was  distracted  by  party  divisions.  The 
"  Hats "  and  "  Caps "  were  now  up  and  now  down, 
like  the  penny  in  the  boy's  game  of  "  pitch  and  toss," 
and  with  apparently  as  little  reason. 

The  stupid  Adolf  Fredrik  tried  marrying  a  gifted 
wife,  but  that  did  not  profit  him.  'The  Louisa  of 
Prussia  he  had  taken  for  his  wife  was  ambitious, 
imperious,  and  unscrupulous.  She  revolted  at  seeing 
her  husband  so  humiliated,  and  prompted  him  to  con- 
tend for  his  rights.  He  was  still  further  restricted, 
and  a  seal  was  made  to  be  used  instead  of  his  signa- 
ture if  he  were  obstinate  about  affixing  hi§  royal  name 
to  State  papers.  When,  at  last,  the  crowned  pair  were 
denied  the  superintendence  of  the  education  of  their 
children,  the  queenly  mother  could  bear  no  more. 
She  planned  a  rebellion,  not  against,  but  for,  the 
crown.  The  plot  was  discovered,  and  the  royal  rebels 


A  GOOD   CARPENTER. 


385 


were  duly  disciplined,  —  the  Queen  by  a  severe  clerical 
rebuke,  and  the  King  by  the  threat  of  being  dethroned 
if  he  did  not  behave  himself  better  in  future. 

Sweden  tried  to  take  her  part  in  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  but  came  out  of  the  undertaking  without  gain 
or  glory. 


ADOLF    FREDRIK. 

The  country  was  impoverished.  Bank-notes  sank 
to  a  third  of  their  proper  value.  The  machinery  from 
the  silent  factories  was  sold  for  a  song,  and  there  was 
a  cry  of  real  distress  from  the  laboring  classes.  Adolf 
Fredrik  laid  down  his  crown.  For  six  days  there 
was  no  king  in  Sweden.  The  crown  was  again  placed 
on  his  head,  but  it  was  not  a  symbol  of  power. 

Gustaf,  prince  royal,  betook  himself  to  Paris.  With 
Louis  XV.  on  the  throne,  the  French  capital  was  no 

25 


386  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH   LIFE. 

good   school   of    morals.     While   Gustaf  was   absent, 
Adolf  Fredrik  died  suddenly,  in  1771. 

There  were  important  changes  in  Sweden,  in  reli- 
gious matters  during  the  reign  of  Adolf  Fredrik. 
Foreign  residents  were  allowed  to  have  their  own 
places  of  worship,  and  were  not  to  be  molested  in  the 
observance  of  their  public  services.  Confirmation  was 
introduced  into  the  Swedish  Church,  to  be  adminis- 
tered by  the  pastors  after  the  due  public  instruction 
of  the  candidates.  Clusters  of  devout  men  and  women 
were  springing  up  here  and  there,  called  by  various 
opprobrious  names,  because  they  laid  more  stress  on 
a  deep  inner  life  than  on  any  forms,  or  any  but  the 
most  fundamental  articles  of  belief.  The  New  Testa- 
ment, Luther's  Little  Catechism,  some  Psalms,  and  a 
spelling-book  and  a  dictionary  were  printed  in  the 
Lapp  language,  and  religious  teachers  were  provided 
for  the  wandering  inhabitants  of  Northern  Sweden. 


A  DRAMA.  387 


A  DKAMA. 

GUSTAF  III.   (1771-1792). 

WITH  a  mother  like  Louisa  Ulrika  of  Prussia,  one 
need  not  be  surprised  at  the  manifold  gifts  of  her 
royal  son.  We  have  but  to  look  at  the  statue  of 
Gustaf  III.  by  Sergei,  his  friend  and  subject,  to  know 
that  we  have  before  us  the  accomplished,  elegant  gen- 
tleman of  the  close  of  the  last  century.  Standing 
quietly,  we  see  the  courtly  king  at  his  best.  In  mo- 
tion, he  was  clumsy,  an  awkward  dancer,  and  a  poor 
horseman.  His  over-tender  mother  had  not  allowed 
him  the  athletic  exercises  that  might  have  made  him 
easy  and  graceful. 

Nature  had  been  lavish  towards  Gustaf  III.,  but 
had  been  poorly  seconded  by  education.  Learning 
made  easy,  had  been  the  method  his  otherwise  skilful 
teachers  early  tried,  and  never  wholly  abandoned. 
His  mind  and  character  were  alike  undisciplined.  At 
eleven  he  wrote,  in  French,  a  clever  and  amusing 
drama,  —  the  experience  of  a  refractory  boy,  —  but  the 
spelling  was  execrable.  "  To  spell  correctly  was  con- 
sidered pedantic  in  those  days."  As  a  writer  and  an 
orator,  the  accomplished  King  was  among  the  first  men 
of  his  time  in  his  own  land.  In  the  A  B  C  of  morality 
he  had  truly  had  instruction,  but  of  its  first  principles 
he  seems  to  have  had  no  idea.  The  men  of  his  court 
were  more  brilliant  than  reliable,  and  the  women  more 
graceful  than  good. 


388  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

At  nineteen,  he  had  been  married  to  Sophia  Magda- 
lena  of  Denmark,  whom  he  had  never  seen  until 
she  came  to  Sweden  to  be  made  his  wife.  He  never 
had  for  her  any  true  or  lasting  affection. 

Gustaf  III.  came  to  the  throne,  a  man  of  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  with  his  tastes  and  character  formed. 
He  found  his  country  in  a  deplorable  condition,  and 
resolved  upon  immediate  action.  A  coup  d'etat  there 
should  be,  and  there  was.  His  plans  were  discovered, 
and  there  was  talk  of  seizing  the  royal  person.  He 
suddenly  appeared  among  the  assembled  officers  and 
soldiers  in  the  palace,  saying :  "  If  you  will  follow 
me,  as  your  forefathers  followed  Gustaf  Vasa  and 
Gustaf  Adolf,  I  will  risk  my  life  for  you,  and  for 
the  deliverance  of  my  country."  He  was  received 
with  enthusiasm.  The  leaders  of  the  "Caps"  were 
arrested.  The  King,  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand, 
rode  through  the  capital,  with  a  white  badge  wound 
round  his  arm.  White  badges  appeared  promptly 
everywhere,  as  if  there  had  been  a  sudden  snowfall. 
The  next  day  the  King,  in  royal  array,  came  into 
the  Eiksdag,  and  proposed  a  new  form  of  govern- 
ment, of  his  own  composition.  It  purported  to  claim 
no  arbitrary  power  for  the  crown,  though  the  royal 
prerogatives  were  greatly  increased.  It  was  adopted 
with  acclamation,  and  Gustaf  III.  was  hailed  as  the 
deliverer  of  his  country  in  a  time  of  sore  need.  The 
"Hats"  and  "Caps"  were  to  abandon  party  names 
and  party  strife.  For  ten  years  there  was  a  glad  flash 
of  prosperity  and  peace  over  the  land. 

In  these  so-called  "glad  days"  a  secret  enemy  had 
been  undermining  the  national  character. 

Distilling  had  become  a  universal  practice,  and  the 
products  of  the  distillery  had  been  lavishly  consumed, 


A  DRAMA.  389 

till  the  vice  of  intemperance  threatened  to  degrade 
the  whole  people.  The  cure  proposed  for  this  evil 
was  the  limiting  of  distilling  to  the  crown,  —  a  plan 
which  would  also,  it  was  supposed,  considerably  increase 
the  royal  revenues.  The  expedient  proved  a  double 
failure.  There  were  loud  complaints  from  all  classes 
that  they  had  been  robbed  of  their  private  rights  and 
lawful  indulgences.  "  Let  the  Court  reform  ! "  was  the 
cry.  "  Let  it  give  up  its  follies  and  its  sins,  and  the 
people  can  take  care  of  themselves  !  "  For  ten  months 
the  King  had  been  lavishing  money  in  foreign  lands. 
"  What  did  he  care  for  the  bad  harvests  at  home,  and 
the  poor  dying  of  hunger  ? "  was  the  general  feeling. 

The  army  and  navy  had  been  the  special  care  of 
Gustaf  III.  He  now  resolved  to  lead  them  into  action, 
and  win  laurels  for  himself,  and  regain  the  love  of 
his  people.  There  was  always  Finland  to  quarrel 
about  with  the  Eussians.  The  Bear  got  the  worst  in 
a  sea  fight.  But  the  King's  brother,  Karl,  carried  off 
the  laurels,  and  at  home  the  complaint  was  loud  that 
the  war  had  been  begun  without  the  consent  of  the 
Eiksdag. 

There  was  more  increase  of  power  for  the  King,  and 
more  fighting.  The  Kussians  had  even  prepared  quar- 
ters on  board  one  of  their  vessels  for  the  captive 
Gustaf  III.,  who  was  to  be  taken,  of  course ;  but  he 
came  off  conqueror  instead.  Brighter  days  seemed 
coming,  but  there  was  discontent  among  the  nobles. 
The  King  was  warned  that  he  had  desperate  enemies, 
and  even  that  he  had  better  not  show  himself  at  a 
certain  masquerade  ball  in  an  opera  house  he  had 
built.  Disguised  in  a  domino,  he  appeared  in  the 
midst  of  a  scene  which  had  for  him  especial  attrac- 
tions. He  found  himself  suddenly  surrounded  by  a 


390  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

crowd  of  the  motley  guests.  "  Good-evening,  beautiful 
master,"  sounded  from  a  voice  at  his  side.  It  was  a 
signal  followed  by  a  shot.  The  ball  entered  the 
King's  back,  just  above  the  hip.  "  I  am  wounded ! 
Seize  him  !  "  cried  the  King.  Others  shouted  that  the 
palace  was  on  fire,  to  increase  the  confusion,  and  allow 
the  conspirators  to  escape.  The  doors  were  however 
made  fast,  and  all  present  were  obliged  to  unmask,  and 
give  their  names.  The  wounded  King  was  borne  to  the 
palace  near  at  hand.  He  lived  for  thirteen  suffering 
days,  during  which  he  appointed  his  brother,  Duke 
Karl,  as  the  head  of  a  provisional  government.  There 
was  no  possibility  now  for  the  proposed  revolt  of  the 
nobles.  The  outraged  people  were  all  on  the  side  of 
the  dying  King.  His  sins  and  mistakes  were  for- 
gotten, and  he  was  mourned  even  before  he  was  dead. 
To  this  day  he  has  the  warm  affection  of  the  Swedish 
nation,  who  like  to  speak  with  pride  of  the  "Gus- 
tavian  Period  "  as  a  brilliant  one  in  their  history.  The 
King's  charms  of  person  and  manners,  his  real  love 
for  his  native  land,  his  deep  reverence  for  his  honored 
forefathers,  his  brilliant  gifts,  his  warm  affection  for 
his  personal  friends,  his  encouragement  of  genius,  his 
love  of  art,  his  earnest  parting  wish  that  the  conspi- 
rators who  had  caused  his  death  should  be  gently  dealt 
with,  —  have  all  conspired  to  throw  a  halo  round  his 
memory. 

The  Gustavian  period  was  a  rich  blossoming  time 
for  literature  and  art,  but  it  has  left  little  lasting  fruit, 
and  few  names  of  world-wide  renown.  The  King's 
friend  Bellman,  the  poet,  like  Burns  (though  a  cour- 
tier instead  of  a  ploughman),  has  too  marked  bac- 
chanalian echoes  in  his  sometimes  beautiful  songs. 
Sergei  the  sculptor's  works  still  praise  him.  He  was 


A   DRAMA.  391 

distinguished  all  over  Europe  while  living.  In  his 
statue  of  his  friend  and  King  love  has  crystallized 
every  charm  of  the  much  admired  gay  monarch  of 
the  Swedes. 

Gustaf  III.  founded  the  Swedish  Academy  for  fur- 
thering the  culture  of  the  Swedish  language  and 
literature,  and  also  the  Academy  for  Historical  and 
Archaeological  Kesearches.  In  a  French  opera-house 
Gustaf  III.  was  first  hailed  as  King  of  Sweden ;  in  the 
Eoyal  Theatre  at  Stockholm  he  received  his  death 
wound.  His  reign  seems  more  like  a  long  masquerade 
or  drama,  where  a  crowned  king  is  the  chief  actor,  than 
a  serious  part  of  veritable  history. 


392  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE, 


A  WANDERER. 

GUSTAF  IV.  ADOLF  (1792-1809). 

A  PARTY  of  strangers  in  Stockholm  had  been  visit- 
ing the  stately  and  admirable  schoolhouse  in  Katariiia 
parish.  A  poorly  dressed  little  pupil  had  been  sent 
with  the  travellers  to  show  them  the  way  through  that 
puzzling  part  of  the  city.  One  of  the  ladies,  who 
could  speak  Swedish,  chatted  with  the  intelligent 
child,  and  finally  asked  him,  "  Which  of  your  kings  do 
you  like  best  ? " 

"  Gustaf  Adolf  !  "  was  the  prompt  and  proud  reply. 

"  Gustaf  IV.  Adolf  ? "  continued  the  questioner, 
mischievously. 

The  boy  came  to  a  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  street 
where  he  was  modestly  walking.  Drawing  himself 
up  to  his  full  height,  he  said,  "  / —  mean  —  Gustaf  II. 
Adolf!" 

"  Why  don't  you  like  Gustaf  IV.  Adolf  ? "  persisted 
the  stranger. 

"  He  lost  Finland  for  us  !  "  said  the  boy,  as  bitterly 
as  if  the  wrong  had  been  done  yesterday,  and  he  had 
been  a  personal  sufferer  from  the  offence. 

The  child  had  spoken  out  the  feeling  of  the  whole 
Swedish  people.  That  Gustaf  IV.  Adolf  let  Finland 
slip  away  from  her  crown,  was  a  sin  for  which  Svea 
has  never  forgiven  him.  Gustaf  III.  had  said  of  his 
only  son,  "  He  is  stiff-necked  and  dull-headed,  and  will 
be  sure  to  come  to  a  bad  end." 


A   WANDEKEIi.  393 

Small  of  calibre  and  narrow-minded  as  Gustaf  IV. 
Adolf  certainly  was,  he  was  still  conscientious,  and 
his  private  life  was  far  more  creditable  than  that  of 
his  gifted  father.  As  the  young  King  was  only  thir- 
teen years  old  at  the  time  of  the  royal  murder,  his 
uncle,  another  Duke  Karl,  was  for  five  years  regent. 
Gustaf  IV.  was  not  easy  to  rule.  When  a  match  had 
been  arranged  for  him  with  the  granddaughter  of  the 
Empress  of  Russia,  he  simply  absented  himself  from 
the  betrothal  at  St.  Petersburg,  when  he  found  the 
future  bride  expected  to  worship  in  Stockholm,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  her  own  church.  He  married 
later  Fredrika  of  Baden.  At  eighteen  years  of  age, 
Gustaf  IV.  Adolf  was  his  own  master,  and  the  ruler 
of  his  kingdom.  The  country  was  in  a  tolerably 
prosperous  condition ;  for  though  Duke  Karl  was  a 
weak  man  and  easily  governed  by  his  favorites,  the 
internal  resources  of  the  country  had  been  in  some  re- 
spects carefully  developed  during  his  regency. 

Bad  harvests  at  last  brought  trouble.  The  King 
felt  warmly  for  his  suffering  subjects,  but  he  could 
not  get  the  nobles  in  the  Riksdag  to  consent  to  adopt 
the  measures  he  proposed  for  the  relief  of  the  hungry. 
Murmuring  was  loud  and  open. 

Gustaf  IV.  Adolf  now  aspired  to  a  career  for 
which  he  was  particularly  unfit  and  incompetent.  He 
made  up  his  mind  to  join  the  allied  powers,  and 
put  down  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  whom  he  verily  be- 
lieved to  be  "  the  beast "  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
Revelation.  He  won  no  glory  abroad  for  himself  or 
his  country,  and  soon  had  more  than  he  could 
attend  to  at  home.  Bernadotte,  in  command  of  the 
French  and  Danes,  was  to  assail  him  from  the  south. 
Prince  Christian  August,  of  Augustenburg,  was  to 


394  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

coine  in  with  the  Norwegians  from  the  west;  while 
Russia,  when  she  had  subdued  Finland,  was  to  meet 
the  invaders  before  Stockholm,  and  Sweden  was  to 
be  cut  up  like  Poland,  and  shared  among  the  victors. 

Every  able-bodied,  unmarried  Swede  between  the 
ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty-five  was  called  to  the 
field,  —  in  all  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men.  An 
unskilful  and  obstinate  leader,  and  the  lack  of  the  very 
necessities  of  life,  brought  this  poor  army  into  sad 
straits. 

Finland  was  meanwhile  left  to  itself,  save  that  the 
King  ordered  the  desperate  Finns  to  retire  northward 
through  the  deep  snows  and  bitter  cold.  They  un- 
willingly obeyed,  but  finally  turned  on  their  pursuers, 
and  then  came  one  of  the  bravest  struggles  ever  re- 
corded in  history.  In  the  midst  of  cold  and  want  and 
sickness  the  little  army  of  strong-hearted  Finns  had 
fought  eighty  battles  when  they  were  obliged  at  last  to 
give  up  the  ground  for  which  they  had  contended,  and 
retire  to  the  ice-bound  regions  at  the  head  of  the  Baltic. 

What  was  now  to  save  Sweden  ?  It  was  resolved 
that  the  incompetent  and  stiff-necked  Gustaf  IV. 
Adolf  must  be  deposed,  —  which  was  most  peremptorily 
and  summarily  done.  Armed  men  surrounded  him 
in  his  own  palace,  and  the  whole  change  was  accom- 
plished without  bloodshed  in  1792.  A  pension  was 
allowed  the  dethroned  King,  who  was  banished  with 
his  family.  He  led  a  wandering  life  as  "  Colonel  Gus- 
taf sson,"  and  died  in  Switzerland  in  1837.  Since  the 
marriage  of  one  of  his  descendants  to  the  present 
Crown  Prince  of  Sweden,  the  remains  of  the  un- 
fortunate King  have  been  placed  in  Riddarholms 
Church  in  Stockholm,  with  those  of  his  honored 
forefathers. 


A   WANDERER.  395 

A  treasure  was  added  to  Swedish  literature  through 
the  loss  of  Finland  by  the  poems  of  Finn  Euneberg,1 
which  vividly  describe  the  bloody  battles  of  the  bold 
struggle,  and  inspire  enthusiastic  admiration  for  the 
brave  generals  who  led  on  the  hardy  Finns. 

In  the  diary  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  mention  is  made  of 
a  so-called  Count  Itteburg,  who  appeared  in  Edinburgh 
in  1819,  with  his  tutor,  to  pursue  there  his  studies. 
The  stranger  was  much  interested  in  the  fate  of  the 
Stuarts.  On  one  occasion,  while  the  Count  was  a  guest 
at  a  country-house,  the  host  was  describing  to  him  the 
adventures  of  the  Pretender  and  his  final  failure. 
"  How  did  he  bear  his  misfortunes  ? "  asked  the 
stranger,  eagerly.  The  sad  story  was  told.  The  host 
looked  up,  and  saw  great  tears  rolling  down  the  cheeks 
of  his  listener,  who  was,  as  he  knew,  the  Prince  of 
Vasa,  the  banished  son  of  Gustaf  IV.  Adolf  of 
Sweden.  This  son  lived  till  1877,  while  four  Berna- 
dottes  were  successively  on  the  throne  of  his  native 
land. 

The  Swedish  King  of  the  far  future,  the  oldest  son 
of  the  present  Crown  Prince,  will  in  due  time  unite 
the  blood  of  the  Vasa  and  Bernadotte  families  on  the 
throne  of  Sweden. 

1  Fanrik  Stal's  Sagner. 


396  PICTUKES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 


DUKE   KARL. 

KARL  XIII.  (1809-1818). 

KARL  XIII.  had  not  been  a  brilliant  man  in  his 
youth.  He  was  sixty  years  of  age  when  he  came 
again  into  power.  Always  doubtful  of  himself,  easily 
influenced,  undecided,  and  changeable,  time  had  in- 
creased these  peculiarities. 

On  the  dismissal  of  Gustaf  IV.  Adolf,  a  Riksdag 
was  called.  A  new  form  of  government  was  made  out 
in  fourteen  days,  —  the  same  substantially  as  that  now 
existing  in  Sweden.  Karl  XIII.  accepted  the  crown 
to  rule  under  the  new  conditions.  He  had  no  heir  to 
the  throne,  and  it  had  been  provided  that  a  crown- 
prince  should  be  chosen  at  once.  After  much  discus- 
sion, the  choice  fell  on  Prince  Christian  August  of 
Augustenburg,  who  had  so  lately  led  an  army  against 
Sweden,  but  had  behaved  mercifully  towards  the 
Swedish  people,  who  were  now  to  propose  to  have  him 
reign  over  them. 

Late  in  the  year  1809  the  old  King  had  a  stroke  of 
apoplexy.  It  was  important  that  the  Crown  Prince 
should  be  on  the  spot.  He  came  simple,  kindly,  and 
warm-hearted,  but  no  man  to  please  in  fastidious  court 
society.  In  the  spring  of  1810,  while  superintending 
some  military  exercises,  he  fell  backward  from  his  horse, 
and  was  soon  dead.  A  groundless  rumor  was  spread  that 
there  had  been  false  play,  and  that  it  was  no  natural 
death.  At  the  State  funeral  of  this  Crown  Prince 


DUKE  KARL.  397 

Count  Axel  von  Fersen  (the  same  who  had  aided 
Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  in  their  attempt  to 
escape  to  Vincennes)  appeared  magnificently  dressed  as 
Marshal  of  the  Kingdom  and  in  a  State  carriage  drawn 
by  six  white  horses.  He  had  been  before  suspected  of 
ill-will  towards  Christian  August ;  and  now  the  mob, 
excited  against  him  by  what  they  thought  his  un- 
suitable display  on  the  solemn  occasion,  fell  upon 
him,  dragged  him  from  his  carriage,  and  in  the  end 
brutally  murdered  him  in  spite  of  the  weak  attempts 
made  for  his  protection. 

The  old  King  was  quietly  at  Haga,  one  of  the  royal 
seats  in  the  neighborhood  of  Stockholm,  when  all 
this  occurred.  It  was  plain  that  a  new  hand  was 
needed  at  the  helm  of  the  Swedish  ship  of  State. 


VIII. 
THE  BERNADOTTES. 


SVEA'S   CHILDREN   OF   THE  PAST. 

A  MORE  THAN  CROWN  PRINCE. 
THE  FATHER  OF  TWO  KINGS. 
THE  LAST  KARL. 


A  MOEE  THAN   CEOWN   PEINCE. 

KARL   XIV.   JOHAN  (1810-1844). 

A  CEOWN  Prince  was  wanted  for  Sweden.  Of 
course  there  was  much  weighing  of  the  German 
princes  in  the  search  for  the  man  for  the  occasion.  An 
enterprising  Swedish  lieutenant  took  the  matter  into 
his  own  hands.  He  had  been  sent  on  government 
business  to  Paris.  On  his  own  responsibility  he 
sounded  Marshal  Bernadotte,  personally,  as  to  whether 
he  would  be  willing  to  rule  the  Swedes,  now  as  their 
Crown  Prince,  and  afterwards  as  their  King. 

The  proposition  struck  the  French  Marshal  favorably. 
The  hasty  determination  of  the  young  lieutenant  was 
indorsed  at  home,  and  the  proposition  to  Bernadotte  was 
formally  made  and  accepted. 

Marshal  Bernadotte,  Prince  of  Ponte  Corvo,  landed 
in  Sweden,  with  his  little  eleven-year-old  son,  in  the 
autumn  of  1810.  He  left  Napoleon,  France,  and 
Catholicism  behind  him,  and  began  his  new  and  unex- 
pected career.  He  was  now  forty-six  years  of  age ;  a 
distinguished  military  leader,  who  had  shown  himself 
skilful  also,  and  energetic  and  efficient  as  the  governor 
of  Hanover  and  of  the  Hanseatic  cities,  and  had  even 
been  given  the  same  position  in  far  Louisiana,  though 
he  never  assumed  its  duties. 

The  dark-haired  stranger  had  a  nose  like  the  beak  of 
the  king  of  birds,  and  an  eye  fit  for  a  king  of  men. 
With  a  Frenchman's  charm  of  manner,  he  united  the 

26 


402  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

commanding  bearing  of  the  hero  of  many  battles. 
There  was  about  him  an  attractiveness  that  pleased 
and  captivated  his  new  subjects  at  once. 

Bernadotte  was  no  accomplished  scholar,  but  the 
world  had  been  his  school,  and  he  had  been  no  dull 
pupil.  He  was  able  to  do  what  he  was  called  upon  to 
do,  and  was  prompt  and  wise  and  just. 


THE   UNION   OF    SWEDEN   AND   NORWAY. 

Jean  Baptiste  Bernadotte  was  now  Karl  Johan,  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Sweden. 

The  usual  enemies  of  Sweden  had  no  weakling,  and 
yet  no  lover  of  bloodshed,  to  deal  with.  With  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  Karl  Johan  soon  entered  on  a  life- 
long, personal  friendship.  With  the  allied  powers,  the 
new  King  of  Sweden  was  willing  to  attack  Napoleon  in 
the  field,  but  he  would  not  be  among  the  invaders  of 
France. 

Norway  refused  to  be  handed  over  to  Sweden  by  the 
Danes,  but  claimed  an  independent  position.  By 
prompt  military  manoauvres  and  wise  diplomacy,  Karl 


A  MORE  THAN  CROWN  PRINCE.  403 

Johan  brought  about  between  the  twin  sisters  of  the 
peninsula,  welded  together  in  the  beginning  of  time  like 
the  Siamese  twins,  the  political  union  suggested  by 
nature.  He  saw  them  independent  countries  in  their 
government,  but  united  under  his  rule  as  the  impartial 
King  over  both.  The  great  military  leader  "  conquered 
a  peace "  for  Sweden  that  has  lasted  for  some  eighty 
years,  a  rest  from  war  unknown  before  in  her  annals. 

A  Frenchman  always,  in  language  and  character,  Karl 
Johan  gave  to  the  Swedes  the  warm-hearted  interest  of 
his  true  Southern  nature,  and  used  his  gifts  and  charms 
of  manner  to  win  the  affections  of  his  people  and 
advance  the  interests  of  the  country  of  his  adoption. 
Internal  improvements,  substantial  prosperity,  and  lit- 
erary progress  mark  his  reign.  Gb'ta  and  Sodertelge 
canals,  the  appearance  of  the  first  Swedish  steamboat, 
the  establishment  of  the  workshops  at  Motala,  and  the 
factories  at  Norrkoping  are  some  of  the  striking  ad- 
vances of  his  reign.  A  special  education  for  medical 
men  and  for  engineers  was  provided,  and  the  lower 
schools  were  wisely  cared  for.  Berzelius  was  king 
among  chemists,  and  John  Ericsson  was  preparing  to 
lead  the  engineer  corps  of  the  world.  Geijer,  the  his- 
torian-poet, was  busy  with  his  powerful  pen.  Tegne*r 
and  Euneberg  wrote  Swedish  poems,  that  have  been 
rendered  into  many  languages,  and  Franze*n  and  Wallin 
were  singing  their  devout  sacred  songs. 

It  was  a  long  reign,  and  one  of  wise,  progressive 
development. 

In  1844  Karl  XIV.  Johan  died,  at  eighty  years  of 
age,  the  most  long-lived  of  the  Kings  of  Sweden  in 
modern  times.  His  little  wife,  Desideria  (Desire'e), 
daughter  of  a  French  merchant,  did  not  come  to  Sweden 
at  first  when  the  Marshal  was  made  Crown  Prince ;  but 


404  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

she  lived  for  many  long  years  in  the  Northern  capital, 


and  died  in  old  age. 


The  change  from  being  Crown  Prince  to  King  natu- 
rally took  place  in  1818,  when  Karl  XIII.  died;  but 
Karl  Johan  had  been  the  real  monarch  from  the  time 
he  set  foot  on  Swedish  soil. 


THE  FATHER  OF  TWO  KINGS.  405 


THE  FATHER   OF  TWO   KINGS. 

OSCAR  I.  (1844-1859). 

OSCAR  I.  was  the  only  son  of  Marshal  Bernadotte. 
He  was  past  forty  years  of  age  when  he  ascended  the 
throne.  He  was  French  by  birth,  but  having  lived  from 
his  boyhood  in  Sweden,  he  was  familiar  with  the  lan- 
guage, character,  and  habits  of  the  people  he  was  to 
govern.  His  reign  was  a  time  of  internal  prosperity. 
In  the  twelve  years  after  his  accession,  the  imports  and 
exports  of  Sweden  had  tripled,  and  in  this  short  time 
as  great  advances  were  made  in  the  business  world  of 
the  country  as  before  in  centuries. 

During  this  reign  a  law  was  passed  that  even  in 
humble  life  sisters  should  inherit  on  equal  terms 
with  their  brothers ;  a  check  was  put  upon  the  work 
of  the  distillers,  and  a  strong  effort  was  made  to  de- 
crease the  vice  of  drunkenness,  prevailing  among  the 
people ;  the  telegraph  tied  city  to  city,  and  facilitated 
free  intercourse  over  the  land,  and  the  State  decided 
to  build  railroads  to  be  under  careful  inspection  and 
superintendence. 

Oscar  I.,  in  1857,  two  years  before  his  death,  con- 
scious of  his  failing  health,  placed,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Riksdag,  the  government  in  the  hands  of  his  son, 
afterwards  Karl  XV. 

Oscar  I.  had  no  favorites  at  court.  He  was  acces- 
sible, but  the  same  to  all.  Absent-minded,  he  would 
often  stop  in  the  midst  of  a  conversation,  to  be  called 


406  PICTURES  OF  SWEDISH  LIFE. 

back,  by  a  touch  from  the  Queen,  to  the  subject  in 
hand.  Capital  punishment  was  repugnant  to  him. 
He  pardoned  rather  than  that  the  murderer  should  be 
executed.  He  inspired  more,  it  is  said,  the  feeling 
that  one  might  have  towards  an  attractive  private 
gentleman,  than  the  awe  inspired  by  an  absolute 


QUEEN   JOSEPHINE. 

sovereign,  or  the  enthusiastic  devotion  called  out  by  a 
brilliant  hereditary  king.  His  wife,  Queen  Josephine, 
survived  him  for  seventeen  years  of  loving  activity 
towards  the  sick,  the  suffering,  the  poor,  and  the  dis- 
couraged, and  her  name  is  held  in  affectionate  memory. 
She  was  a  Catholic,  as  was  her  father,  Prince  of  Leuch- 
tenberg,  who  is  better  known  as  Eugene  Beauharnais, 
the  son  of  the  Empress  Josephine. 


THE  LAST  KARL 


407 


THE    LAST    KARL. 

KARL  XV.  (1859-1872). 

WITH  the  late  King,  Karl  XV.,  we  have  fairly  come 
down  to  our  own  day.  The  muse  of  History  is  a  pres- 
byte.  She  cannot  see  clearly  and  fairly  what  is  too 
near  to  her  eyes,  and  she  knows  her  failing. 


LANDSCAPE    PAINTED    BY   KARL   XV. 

We  do  not  need  to  go  to  history  to  hear  about  Karl 
XV.  Almost  everybody  one  meets  in  Stockholm  has 
some  story  to  tell  about  the  friendly  King,  who  could 
leave  his  royalty  in  the  vestibule  of  a  subject's  home, 
and  sit  down  to  chat  with  the  family  within,  as  if  he 
were  one  of  themselves.  He  liked  to  meet  his  people 


408  PICTURES  OF   SWEDISH  LIFE. 

as  a  man  and  a  brother,  in  the  palace,  the  cottage,  or  by 
the  fireside  of  the  comfortable  citizen.  It  is  reported 
that  his  mother  said  of  him,  "Karl  pleases,  without 
trying  to  please." 

The  re-organization  of  the  Eiksdag,  before  mentioned, 
was  the  great  work  of  this  reign.  In  January,  1867, 
the  Riksdag  first  met,  according  to  its  new  organiza- 
tion, made  under  the  superintendence  of  the  honored 
statesman,  Baron  Louis  de  Geer.  The  law  forbidding 
the  assembling  of  dissenters  in  private  houses  was 
annulled  in  the  time  of  Karl  XV.  The  schools  were 
much  improved,  under  the  influence  of  the  minister  of 
ecclesiastic  affairs,  the  late  F.  F.  Carlson.  The  wife  of 
Karl  XV.  was  the  gentle  Louisa  of  the  Netherlands. 
She  died  in  1871.  The  next  year,  the  King,  who  had 
been  for  some  time  in  failing  health,  died  at  Malmo,  on 
his  return  from  a  foreign  journey.  He  was  succeeded 
by  his  brother,  the  present  King  Oscar  II. 

The  great  historian  Geijer  has  said  "  the  history  of 
her  Kings  is  pre-eminently  the  history  of  Sweden." 
We  leave  Oscar  II.  with  the  responsibility  of  his  own 
life,  and  the  history  of  his  country  during  the  reign 
of  the  fourth  of  the  Bernadottes.  May  it  be  a  fair 
page,  on  which  posterity  will  dwell  with  unalloyed 
satisfaction ! 


THE   END. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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